Apple extends iCloud storage for another year

There's good news if you previously used MobileMe and migrated to iCloud. Apple has extended its increased temporary storage for another year, CNET reports.

Apple's iCloud only offers 5GB free online storage, which is a lot less than the 20GB promised by its now defunct MobileMe predecessor. To help aid the transition, Apple granted those on MobileMe the same 20GB on iCloud, and now it'll stay for another year. Happy days.

The increased storage was supposed to expire on 30 June, then 30 September, and then… things went a bit wrong. Apple suffered a glitch that told anyone signed up that they'd have 20GB free for another 38 years. The glitch went unnoticed, with the expiry date of 30/09/2050 staying for a few days.

But now Apple has remedied it with an email to customers.

"When you moved your MobileMe account to iCloud, we provided you with a complimentary storage upgrade beyond the standard 5GB that comes with an iCloud account to help you with the transition," the email read. "Originally, this storage upgrade was set to expire on 30 September 2012.

"As a thank you to our former MobileMe customers, we will continue to provide you with this complimentary storage upgrade at no charge, for an additional year, until 30 September, 2013. No action is required on your part." Recipients were also directed to an article on the topic on the Apple Support pages.

Another year of freebies was always going to be good news. When that expires, you'll have to start paying to keep your goodies in the cloud. iCloud costs £14 a year for 10GB storage (15GB total with the 5GB free), £28 for 20GB (25GB total), and £70 for 50GB (55GB total).

Have you been using iCloud? Are you happy with it, or do you agree with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak that cloud storage is going to cause "a lot of horrible problems in the next five years"? Let me know below, or on Facebook.