iCloud and wireless internet – how the two work together
A while back, Apple unveiled iCloud, an online storage facility for your music, emails, contacts, pictures and more. It seems simple, but there are some ins and outs that you have to figure out as you go. This article outlines how iCloud works and what you can do with it.
With the right wireless internet provider, you can ensure quick downloads and backups with iCloud. You can search wireless internet providers by zip code on this website.
Wireless internet and your personal iCloud space
iCloud will work on any of your Apple devices – iPad, iTouch, iPhone or Mac computer. If you’ve installed the latest operating system, iCloud will automatically install itself.
The simplest way to explain iCloud is that if you take a picture on your iPhone, it downloads automatically to your Mac. Similarly, if you add a person to your contacts on your iPad, it’ll update in your phone. It essentially syncs your devices’ content so you can pick up where you left off. Let’s say you take that picture on your iPhone. Instead of having to plug into your computer and transfer the file, iCloud transfers it automatically – right after you take it.
iCloud makes it easy to make sure all your devices have the same stuff on them. If you make an appointment in iCal on your Mac, it’ll remind you on your phone later on if you’re away from your Mac.
iCloud is free for every user, and comes with 5GB of storage space. However, you can always purchase more space if you need to.
- 10GB = $20/year
- 20GB = $40/year
- 50GB = $100/year
Wireless internet and iTunes Match
When reading about iCloud, you may have come across something called iTunes Match. iTunes Match will back up all your music in the cloud, and allow you to download any song from your library onto any of your devices.
By default, iCloud will store your iTunes-purchased songs in the cloud. However, you need iTunes Match if you want to store songs that you haven’t purchased from iTunes. Therefore, if you have a huge collection of CDs you’ve imported onto your computer via iTunes, you can add those to the cloud with iTunes Match for $24.99 a year.
iTunes Match will determine which songs in your library are sold in iTunes. If there’s a match, your song can be uploaded to iCloud.
One of the hidden benefits of iTunes Match is that your songs can be played at a higher bit rate. This means that even if you imported your songs into iTunes at one quality, iTunes Match can play them back at a higher quality.
