If the iCloud service works as promised, users will no longer need to connect their iPhones or iPads to their computers to move photos, music or files from one device to the other.
For photos, documents and other content that users create themselves, any device running iCloud will automatically upload those files via the Internet to Apple Inc.'s massive new data center in rural North Carolina.
Photos snapped on an iPhone, for example, will be stored in an individual's iCloud account. An iPad or Mac computer logged into the same account will automatically download that photo to keep all the devices in sync.
The same applies to email, calendars, contacts and documents. That puts Apple in direct competition with similar services offered by Google Inc., such as Gmail and Google Documents.
The iCloud music service goes several steps further.
First, people will be able to download anything they purchased on iTunes to any device they own.
A new feature called iTunes Match will also scan devices for any music not purchased on iTunes, For $25 a year, users will be able to access any of the 18 million songs available on iTunes that match their own collections. Finally, any music they own but that isn't available in the iTunes store will be uploaded to their iCloud accounts.
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