Apple unveils iCloud at WWDC

Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage at its developer conference to make the official announcement of the company's new cloud-based service, iCloud.

The new service will allow users to keep their files and applications in sync across all their devices, from virtually anywhere there is Internet service.

Everything happens automatically and there's nothing new to learn. It just all works, Jobs said.

iCloud stores your content in the cloud and wirelessly pushes it to all your device. It automatically uploads it, stores it, and pushes it to all your devices.

iCloud will replace MobileMe, Jobs says, the company's previously failed implementation of a cloud-based service.

The new service was built from the ground up, however, and lets users, for example, add a new document on their mobile device.

The document is automatically copied on the cloud and pushed back to all other devices, Jobs says. The same happens with calendar items. And iCloud allows two or more people to share calendars. Mail works the same way. All folders are kept up to date on all devices.

I stick the phone in my pocket and I forget about it... When I get home, pick up the iPad and fire up Pages, and the document thumbnail has already been updated.

The new free service, lets users store photos in the cloud also with a new service called Photo Stream.

But perhaps the most interesting advancement is iTunes -- Apple's proprietary media store -- brought into the realm of the cloud also.

The cloud based iTunes works similarly to the other iCloud services.

Any songs previously purchased on iTunes will be available on all devices.

Anything I bought I can now download to any of my devices at no additional charge, he says. This is the first time we have seen this in the music industry.

Apple will also scan user's original library and make the same content available in the cloud without any need for an upgrade.

This is what it calls iTunes Match, and distances Apple from cloud-based music services from the like Amazon and Google. On those services users must upload.

Apple is ready to ramp iCloud in its three data centers, including the third recently completed in Maiden, NC. Apple has invested over $500 million in its Maiden data center, official said.

The new service will be available for end-users this fall, alongside iOS 5.