iPhone Secrets

Chapter 16

iCloud, the Cloud, and iTunes Match

In This Chapter

• Understanding how the cloud operates
• Keeping your digital life in sync
• Managing multiple Apple IDs
• Comprehending compatibility
• Implementing iTunes Match

I’ve tiptoed around the cloud issue throughout this book, mentioning it here and there as a means to an end. This chapter dives headfirst into the relatively new, unexplored, and unpublicized world of consumer cloud use. In years prior, cloud services were mostly reserved for enterprise users—companies where VPN (virtual private network) access was a requirement due to remote or traveling employees. But as the world becomes more mobile, there’s an obvious need to bring consumers into the fold. Without all the headaches involved, of course. Apple’s iCloud not only takes the place of MobileMe, but it adds an entirely new layer of sync capabilities. Beyond that, iTunes Match might just be the most galvanizing creation from Apple since the iPhone itself. It, along with Google Music across the way, has turned the music world on its ear, and aside from keeping your music safe from deletion and accessible wherever an Internet connection is available, it has also pushed the industry as a whole closer to the “rent, not own” model. Turns out, Apple isn’t the only one piping consumers into the cloud, so I also discuss the best cloud storage iPhone apps and how to best manage your iPhone files across hard drives you’ll never actually touch.

Wrapping Your Head Around the Cloud ...