APPLE

A clear need seen for new iCloud service

• CEO: Storage hub to synchronize files and allow access across devices

By CASEY NEWTON

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

SAN FRANCISCO — Apple unveiled new online services Monday that will host users’ digital lives for free on its servers and synchronize their files across devices.

The announcements at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in San Fran­cisco follow similar moves to cloud-based storage from Google and Amazon. When the Cupertino, Calif.-based company’s services become available this fall, executives said, it will be easier for people to use iPads and iPhones as their primary computers.

Many of the updates are designed to let users forget about which files are stored where, so they can access documents, songs and photos from whatever device they happen to have on hand.

“Keeping those devices in sync is driving us crazy,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs told an audience. “We are going to move the digital hub, the center of your digital life, into the cloud.”

Jobs, who has been on a medical leave since January, appeared thin but relatively energetic as he led developers and the media through coming updates to the operating systems of Macintosh, mobile devices and the cloud. After a short introduction, he brought deputies onstage to

apple:Software updates to be sent wirelessly

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discuss most of the changes, before returning to discuss iCloud in detail.

The keynote marked Jobs’ second appearance at an Apple event this year, following his surprise keynote at the iPad 2 launch in March.

Jobs said the new sync services will move users closer to a future where tablets and phones don’t require a connection to desktops and laptops in order to get updates. From now on, Jobs said, software updates will be delivered to users wirelessly.

Free up to 5 gigabytes

iCloud will give users 5 gigabytes of storage for free. Music and photos, typically among the largest hogs of disk space, will not count against the limit.

The service replaces MobileMe, a $99-a-year service that stumbled upon its launch in 2008 and failed to gain significant traction. Jobs promised iCloud would mark a significant improvement.

“It wasn’t our finest hour — let me just say that,” he said of MobileMe. “But we learned a lot.”

The announcements also move Apple closer to what it calls “the post-PC future.” When iCloud arrives, customers will be able to set up new iPhones and iPads just by entering their existing Apple ID and password. They can also create a new account on the device.

From there, customers’ mail, photos, music, contacts and other information will download to the new device automatically.

The 5,200 developers in attendance greeted many of the new announcements with cheers, particularly for upcoming tweaks to Apple’s iOS mobile operating system.

iOS 5, which will become available in the fall, features a revamped system of notifications that more closely resembles notifications in Google’s Android operating system.

Users can swipe down from the top of the screen and immediately see weather, stock market data, and a list of information about recent phone calls, text messages, e-mails and more.

iMessage unveiled

Apple also unveiled a new messaging system, called iMessage, that serves as a text-message replacement for users who are conversing on iOS devices. Users can send texts, photos and videos from an iPad to an iPhone, for example, and then view replies later using a synchronized iPod Touch or other Apple device.

The updates will work for anyone who has an iPhone 3GS or later, as well as both iPad models and third- and fourth-generation iPod Touches.

The keynote also included the announcement of new music syncing options. Songs purchased via the iTunes Store can be synchronized to up to 10 devices. For $25 a year, customers can use a feature called iTunes Match that will scan users’ hard drives and allow them to synchronize any songs that can be found within iTunes to their other devices.

easier to use

The scan-and-match feature goes a step further than similar offerings from Google and Amazon, which unveiled digital music lockers of their own earlier this year. Both lockers require users to upload their songs manually, a step that can be time-consuming for users with large collections.

Charles Golvin, an analyst with Forrester Research, said Apple’s planned cloud offerings appear to be more robust than other device manufacturers. And they seem easier to use, too, he said.

“Youdon’t eventhink about it — it just shows up on your device,” Golvin said. “If you need something, it’s there.”

While much of the attention focused on mobile offerings, Apple also announced the availability next month of Mac OS X Lion, the next version of Apple’s operating system for desktops and laptops. For the first time, Apple will distribute the update exclusively through the Mac App Store, the online software store it launched earlier this year.

The new version, which includes added forms of gesture control and new ways to launch applications, will be available for $29.