After many recent rumors suggesting an imminent announcement, Apple’s iCloud storage service was introduced by CEO Steve Jobs at Monday’s 2011 Worldwide Developers Conference.

iCloud, a cloud computing program that will let Apple users store music, videos, photos and other documents in a secure online space, is the company’s answer to Amazon’s Cloud Player and Google’s Music Beta, although this latest service is much more wide-reaching and all-inclusive. While the Amazon and Google clouds are designed for music, Apple envisions iCloud as a place for all types of electronic files.

The music component of iCloud is now available for mobile device owners running version 4.3 of Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS. The rest of iCloud is currently scheduled to be rolled out sometime this fall.

From the onset, iCloud will be compatible with Mac computers, iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches and capable of syncing wirelessly with all of those sources. This means that an Apple user could download a work document onto his computer, put it into iCloud and send it to his iPad, all without the use of any cords or USB drives.

Apple’s iCloud storage solution will automatically backup data designated for a user’s cloud every day, provided that the devices in question are connected to a Wi-Fi network. Additionally, the backup process is capable of being performed in the background, meaning that it won’t interrupt the activity of any other programs a user might be running.

However, there will be some initial limits to data storage. iCloud users will be able to store five gigabytes of data, keep photos in iCloud for just 30 days and will be required to pay an annual $25 fee to store music and video files not purchased in its iTunes Store.

The Apple iCloud storage service is free (except for its music portion, which will cost money due to record label complaints) and replaces its similar but less-effective MobileMe, which cost customers $100 a year. MobileMe was discontinued by Apple in February, after years of internal and external criticism over its lack of stability.

“We think this is going to be pretty big…” said Jobs at the much-anticipated and highly-attended WWDC, according to a CNN.com article. “This is the first time we’ve seen this in the music industry.”

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