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| The iCloud - Photo Stream promotional slide at Apple's website. |
I own an iPhone 4S. The iPhone 4S box has an iCloud logo on it. People ask how to iCloud this and that. What exactly is iCloud? This article will answer that, along with other frequently asked questions about the features and uses of iCloud, one of the greatest additions in Apple's latest firmware update, iOS 5.
So what is iCloud?
The simple answer is iCloud is a "common storage service with a twist" for your Apple mobile devices using iOS 5. If you have an iPhone 4S and an iPad 2, iCloud will serve as a common storage for stuffs like music, photos, apps, books, and data purchased or generated using either devices. What's the twist? Your iPhone 4S does not have to fetch the iPad 2 stuffs from the common storage because they will be automatically pushed to your iPhone 4S. For example: If you take a photo using your iPhone 4S where Photo Stream is enabled, a copy will be uploaded to your iCloud account through Wi-Fi. And if your iPad 2 is connected to Wi-Fi and has Photo Stream enabled as well, then a copy of the photo will appear in your iPad 2. Even when you turn off your iPad 2 the copy will be there, stored and available for view, when you turn it back on. Think of it as a bypass to iTunes in your computer. You don't need to transfer your iPhone 4S Camera Roll photos to your computer just so you can sync them to your iPad 2 later. iCloud makes the whole process of sharing contents to your other Apple mobile devices faster and easier. The only requirement is that your iPhone 4S and iPad 2 have to be using the same iCloud account - that's why it's called "common" storage.
If I only have one Apple mobile device, then iCloud is not going to be very useful to me?
It is a storage. Why would a storage not be useful? The thing is, iCloud does not only distribute data to all your Apple mobile devices. Like most storage, it functions as a back up. It backs up your music, contacts list, emails, messages, and even settings. So, if even you don't have another Apple mobile device now, this backup will be available for pushing or syncing when the time comes that you do. If your iPhone 4S encounters some problems and needs reset, iCloud can push all your previous contents and settings back to your iPhone 4S so that you don't lose any data, and you can continue using your iPhone 4S as if you never reset it.
If I turn on iCloud, everything will be backed up, and pushed to my other devices? How do you turn it on?
iCloud is not a one-button-for-all service. You have to select what features you want to use. On your iPhone 4S, when you go to Settings > iCloud, you will see the list of apps or services that you can individually use. You can select Mail, Safari Bookmarks, and Photo Stream among others. If you don't want your documents and apps do be backed up and pushed then toggle Documents & Data off. If you don't want to push your photos, then toggle Photo Stream off. iCloud offers you the flexibility to choose only the services and functionality you need.
Is iCloud free?
Only for 5 GB data. If you're going to need more storage capacity then you can buy more storage. In your device select iCloud > Storage & Backup > Buy More Storage. The prices are 10 GB for $20/year (total of 15 GB with your 5 GB free), 20 GB for $40/year (25 GB total with your free 5GB storage), and 50GB for $100/year (55 GB total with your 5 GB free storage). You can check Apple's iCloud page for the details on how to renew lease every year.
What are other ways I can use iCloud?
There are tons of ways iCloud can make data sharing and syncing between your Apple mobile devices easy:
1. If you purchase a music from iTunes using one Apple mobile device, this can appear to your other mobile devices.
2. If you have pictures in your laptop that you sync to one of your Apple mobile devices, these can appear to all the others Apple mobile devices. These pictures could have been taken using whatever camera, or downloaded from the internet, it doesn't matter. As long they're synced on one iOS device, they can be pushed to all others.
3. If you download an app in one device, they will appear on all others.
4. If you have downloaded a book in one device and started reading it, and you decided to put a book mark, this book mark will be visible on a copy of that book on your other mobile device and you can finish reading right where you left off.
5. Calendar, Mails, Notes, Reminders, and Contacts list are always going to be identical between Apple mobile devices that have enabled these apps in iCloud. If your can't use one of your devices for some reason, your daily routine wont' have to disrupted because you can continue your normal business using your other devices. Call the same persons, read the same notes, different devices, same content.
6. You can locate your iPhone if you lost it using Find My iPhone service with iCloud.
iCloud is useful. I don't think anyone can say that it's just an attempt at making iOS 5 feature-rich because it's extremely functional. With iCloud, you are not only able to manage your contents but practically your daily life. You can get all these iCloud capabilities with iOS 5. And we all know iOS gets updated regularly. Imagine the possibilities.