Apple has opened iCloud to developers, and devs are taking note of a whole new suite of web apps that are included with the software, along with iCloud’s pricing plan. 5GB accounts will be free, of course, but additional storage will cost you.
U.S. customers can buy an additional 10GB of cloud storage (for a total of 15GB) for $20 a year; 20GB (25GB total) for $40 a year; or 50GB (55GB total) for $100 a year. In the U.K., those prices translate to £14, £28, and £70, respectively. iCloud will run European customers 16€, 32€, and 80€, respectively.
The iCloud beta shows off native web apps for Mail, Calendar, Contacts, and even a special portal for iWork’s Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. Each of the apps match their OS X Lion and iOS counterparts, with realistic-looking calendar pages in Calendar, for example. Presumably, data entered in an iCloud web app would then sync with Lion and your iPhone or iPad, and vice versa. There’s also a Web version of the Find My iPhone app, so we presume that additional web apps for iCloud will be launched over time.
Below is a nifty video showing off what the iCloud website experience is like. (The video has no sound.) The presentation is predictably slick, with the kinds of cool animations and effects we expect from Apple software. iCloud is expected to launch this Fall alongside iOS 5.
