Apple has announced the availability of the beta version of its iCloud service for developers.
The iCloud service, which will be a free service for Apple users, seems inspired from the Mobile Me, the cloud based contact, email and calendar management service of Apple.
iCloud will feature all the services of the Mobile Me along with a few add-ons like the iWork integration with the cloud and ‘find my phone’, a web based iPhone tracking service.
Although these services are still not open to public but now at least we have started to know that what the new OS 5 will be capable of and with the iCloud things look interesting.
The basic 5 GB version of the iCloud service will be free but for the 10 GB, 20 GB and 50 GB variants, users will have to shell out $20, $40 and $100 per year respectively. The basic service of the iCloud will give access to basic features allowing users to access the 5 GB storage space for various tasks including contacts, calendar and picture management along with other free services.
However, the service will be available for the public only towards the end of September this year. Apple has opened up a dedicated web portal for the service which can be accessed by visiting www.icloud.com and using the Apple ID to log in but only once the public version is on.