A few hours after Apple rolled out iCloud TV, a feature that allows users to download or stream all the TV shows they’ve purchased from iTunes on any iCloud supporting device. Apple has now seeded new versions of iWork for iOS and iPhoto for Mac, both featuring iCloud integration for the first time.
iWork for iOS, which is comprised of touch-friendly versions of Keynote, Pages and Numbers, has now been updated to support for editing documents on the go and then seamlessly sync those changes across all devices registered under your Apple ID and have iWork installed on them. You can, for example, edit a text document using Pages on your iPad and automatically see the changes in real time on your Mac if you have the document open with Pages. In addition, all documents will now show up on the user’s iCloud.com account as they’re being edited allowing every device connected to the internet to access them.
In addition to iWork, iPhoto for the Mac is also getting a refresh adding support for Photo Stream, a new feature in iCloud that allows users to keep their photo libraries in sync across all registered devices with an Internet connection. While Photo Stream will work with iOS’s native Photo app, it will only work this new version of iPhoto, currently known as 9.2 beta.
More than just updated apps, Apple has also unveiled iCloud Beta (http://www.icloud.com) on web. They have also announced US and UK prices for iCloud storage. While a basic version of iCloud with 5 GB of storage will be free, as promised, users will be able to upgrade their storage if they so choose, with different plans to fit the needs of different customers, ranging from a 15-GB plan for $20 per year to a 55-GB plan for $100 per year. Prices in the UK are also similar to those of the US.
Only Apple registered developers will be able to get the new software at the moment, similar to what happens with other pre-release software from the Cupertino company. Anyone with access to a computer can register for a developer account for as little as $99 per year by heading to Apple’s developer site. Aside from pre-release software, registered users will get access to exclusive development tools and documentation.
These updates are expected to be available to the public once iCloud is officially rolled along with the final version of iOS 5, which is scheduled to happen sometime in the fall.
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