The original idea of icloud is simple; to be able to access your files and sync all your hardware with ease through the cloud. The synchronization service is performed on your computer or iPhone and in return all your files are updated. iCloud works the same way as other personal storage services like Live Mesh or DropBox, but with iCloud it is directly integrated into your phone or computer. The basic free icloud account gives you 5 GB of storage. And Apple already provides additional storage as a cost of course:
- 10GB (15 in total): $ 20/year
- 20GB (25 in total): $ 40/year
- 50GB (55 in total): $ 100/year
In all cases you still get that 5 GB of free storage at the start. Applications may be “icloud ready” at least through IOS which is also known as Apple’s mobile platform. This is very useful as any of these applications can automatically connect to the account through icloud. Any device using IOS for example may be fully backed up through icloud. For Apple, the iTunes service offering icloud must compete with online music stored proposed by Amazon and Google.