iCloud opens up for developers; Pricing revealed

Written by Zack Whittaker, Writer-editor

Zack Whittaker Writer-editor

Zack Whittaker was the security editor for ZDNet.

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Posted in Between the Lines on August 1, 2011 | Topic: Developer

Apple has opened one of many doors to the iCloud beta by making the MobileMe replacement accessible to the web.

iCloud.com is now available to Apple developers around the world. Users still require a developer account -- linked into their Apple ID -- to access the features, however.

Announced at WWDC 2011 in California in June, iCloud is the replacement to Apple's MobileMe service. It features your Contacts, Calendar, iWork and Find my iPhone -- all features available in both Mac OS X and iOS 5.

iCloud includes a new Mail application; similar in feel and look to Mac OS X Lion's Mail application, keeping consistency across the board. The same can be said with the other cloud-based applications, which includes Keynote and Numbers for Mac.

Pricing has also been revealed. As the iCloud comes with 5GB free storage, anything more than this will cost. This will reportedly be upgradable via the settings application in iOS 5, so users can upgrade as and when they wish, wherever they are in the world:

• 10GB includes 15GB total iCloud storage at $20 per year
• 20GB includes 25GB total iCloud storage at $40 per year
• 50GB includes 55GB total iCloud storage at $100 per year

The full version of iCloud will be ready for the masses this fall.

Related:

• OS X Lion Awakens: Can Akamai handle downloads for Apple's Cloud?
• iOS 5 beta 2 adds WiFi sync, OTA updates
• Did the DropBox security lapse poison the well for iCloud?
• Apple launches back-to-school deal with $100 Mac App Store voucher
• Is Apple really using Windows Azure to power iCloud?