Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
iCloud: Apple's Free and Easy Wireless
Service
Apple's iCloud service is more than just a wireless hard drive in the sky. Rather, iCloud is a com-
plete wireless storage and data synchronization solution. In a nutshell, iCloud stores and manages
your digital stuff — your music, photos, contacts, events, and more — keeping everything updated
on all your computers and iDevices automatically with no physical (wired) connection or action on
your part. Like so many things Apple makes, iCloud just works.
iCloud “pushes” information such as e-mail, calendars, contacts, reminders, and bookmarks to and
from your computer — and to and from your iPad and other iDevices sporting iOS 5 or later — and
then keeps those items updated on all devices wirelessly, without human intervention. It also in-
iPad, Find My Friends, and 5GB of online storage.
Your free iCloud account includes 5GB of free storage, which is all many (if not most) users will
need. If you find yourself needing more storage, 10-, 20-, and 50-gigabyte upgrades are available for
$20, $40, and $100 a year, respectively.
A nice touch is that music, apps, books, periodicals, movies, and TV shows purchased from the
iTunes Store, as well as photos in your Photo Stream, don't count against your 5GB of free storage.
(If you don't know what your iPad's delicious Photo Stream and Shared Photo Streams are all about,
find out more in Chapter
9
.) And if you subscribe to iTunes Match, even tracks you've ripped your-
self or acquired from other sources don't count against your 5GB of free storage.
You'll find that the things that do count against your storage space — such as mail, documents, pho-
tos taken with your iPad camera, account information, settings, and other app data — don't use much
space. So that free 5GB is all many users require.
If you want to have your e-mail, calendars, contacts, and bookmarks synchronized automatically and
wirelessly (and believe us, you do), here's how to enable iCloud syncing on your iPad:
1.
Tap Settings on your Home screen.
2.
Tap iCloud in the list of settings on the left.
3.
Provide your Apple ID and password.
4.
Sign in.
Now you can tap any of the individual On/Off switches to enable or disable iCloud sync for the fol-
lowing:
Mail
Contacts
Calendars
