Apple's iCloud: CEO Steve Jobs unveils 'digital hub' for music, other content

Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs today ushered his company -- and, byextension, the global computing industry -- into the "cloud" era.

"We are going to move the digital hub, the center of your digitallife, into the cloud," Jobs said.

The new iCloud service replaces Apple's MobileMe document-sharing offering, which cost $99 a year. The new iCloud service isfree, Jobs said.

With iCloud, content such as music and documents is stored onlarge servers instead of on personal hard drives -- and isaccessible from anywhere through the Internet.

The new iCloud service is Apple's seal of approval of what manyexperts believe is the next major iteration of the digital world.

All of Apple's devices today "have communications systems builtinto them," Jobs said. "They can all talk to the cloud. Everythingsyncs without us having to think about it. We don't even have totake it out of my pocket."

Perhaps the biggest star of the iCloud service is the new iTunesfunction that lets people download songs to as many as 10 devices,instead of five, at no extra cost.

"This is the first time we have seen this in the music industry -- no charge for multiple downloads for different devices," Jobssaid. "Any song I buy on any device will automatically be downloadedto all my devices."

And, in a "one more thing" moment, Jobs said Apple also isoffering iTunes Match -- software that will scan all the non-iTunesmusic in a library and allow users to access it through iCloud for$24.99 a year.

The iTunes part of iCloud is available today with an iOS 4.3update, with other iCloud features coming in the fall.

The iCloud service also includes automatic backup functions forall devices. It also allows iPhone owners to update the device withall of the data and the ability to start reading a book on an iPadand picking it up later on the same page on an iPhone.

The service works with documents created on various devices.Documents can be updated on all devices when changed on any of them.

Apple will provide 5 gigabytes of free storage on iCloud formail, documents and backup.

The new PhotoStream service will allow a person to take aphotograph on an iPhone, upload it to iCloud, then download it toall devices, from the iPad to a Mac to Apple TV, Jobs said. Photoswill be stored for 30 days on the service, and devices will storethe last 1,000 photos taken. If a Photo Stream user wants to store aphoto permanently, it needs to be moved into an album on a Mac orPC.

Earlier, Apple showed new versions of its software for Maccomputers and mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad.

Just after 10 a.m., Jobs, who has been on medical leave, took thestage at Moscone Center in San Francisco for the kickoff of Apple'sannual Worldwide Developers Conference. As Jobs strolled on stage,he basked in the applause as one member of the audience shouted, "Welove you."

"Thank you. It always helps and I appreciate it very much," Jobssaid.

The conference has 5,200 attendees, Jobs said. "Today it is allabout software," he said.

"If the hardware is the brain and sinew of our products, thesoftware in them are its soul," Jobs said. "Today we are going totalk about software."

Scott Forstall, Apple's senior vice president of iPhone software,said 25 million iPads have been sold and more than 14 billion appshave been sold through the App Store. He introduced iOS 5, thelatest operating system for the iPhone and iPad. It includes 200 newfeatures.

The new software -- which will ship in the fall -- allows iPadand iPhone owners to set up and activate their devices without beingconnected to a computer. Software updates will be available "overthe air," Forstall said.

"We are living in a PC-free world. With the iPad, we are usheringin the post-PC world," he said. "If you want to cut the cord, youcan."

Among the new functions is "Notifications Center," which letsdevice owners know when they have email or text messages. They canaccess incoming messages with a finger swipe.

The Newstand -- a one-stop app for buying publications --combines all the newspaper and magazine subscriptions a user haspurchased. New issues can be automatically downloaded.

Another iOS 5 feature is a fast tab function that can be used toquickly flip through different windows.

Forstall said the new iOS comes with new photo-editing functions.It also will let iPhone users use the camera quickly and the "volumeup" button to snap pictures.

The iOS 5 software also comes with updated mail features, such asthe ability to search all messages on the phone and on servers, aswell as message flag and unflag functions.

It includes a new messaging service, called iMessage, that willconnect iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users. The service will includethe ability to send text messages, videos and photos. Senders cancheck delivery and read receipts to ensure the person received thematerial. A conversation can start on an iPad, then be picked uplater on an iPhone.

Apple also announced greater integration with Twitter, so thatyou can tweet photos, for instance, directly from a photo app.

Earlier, Jobs handed the stage over to one of his top executives,Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide productmarketing, who introduced the latest version of the Macintoshoperating system, Lion, which has 250 new features.

Lion, which will cost $29.99, will be available in July throughthe Mac App Store -- or for free on all new Macintosh computers,Schiller said. It won't be available on discs as in the past. TheLion download can be used on multiple Macs that are owned by thesame person.

Making the Mac more like the iPhone and iPad, Apple is adaptingmore applications to run in full-screen mode rather than in smallerwindows. Swipe gestures control the full-screen apps.

Other highlights include new multitouch functions; "MissionControl," a feature that lets users view all the programs that arerunning and tap on any document to bring it to the front; and autosave, which lets users revert to an earlier version of a document.

Another feature of Lion is AirDrop, a document-sharing functionthat lets users swap files over a Wi-Fi network. There is also arevamped mail application that includes a favorites bar and newsearch abilities.

Schiller said Apple's Mac Store -- which is part of the new Lionoperating system, not a separate download application as it is now -- has become the No. 1 channel for buying software, leaping overretail giants such as Best Buy.

Hours before the event, thousands of developers ringed the cityblock around the Moscone West building. Mimes dressed in colorfulfull-body suits silently performed in front of the waitingengineers. Free coffee was offered to the chilly faithful, some ofwhom camped out overnight.

"It's a bit of a cult -- maybe more than a cult," said MartinRoth, chief technology officer of music app developer RealityJockey.

Roth had flown in Saturday from London and hoped to be in lineearly enough to be among the fortunate few squeezed into theauditorium with Jobs. He quickly surmised, though, that he probablywould be stuck in an overflow area.

"It's really about being in the same room with Steve Jobs," Rothsaid.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact JohnBoudreau at 408-278-3496.