iCloud now with developer account?

[PDFierro]

I am getting my first Mac soon (the new MBA on the day it comes out) and I have been meaning to change my e-mail address for a while now to make things similar, and I would like to get a @me.com account.

How could I go about this? I read that you can create a mail account now with the iCloud beta. Do I need to just pay for a developer account and download the iCloud beta? Or is iCloud going to be available with Lion from the start?

I'm trying to avoid having to migrate accounts with my new system, as I will be making plenty of iTunes purchases and would like to set up my iCloud account on the Mac when I get it.

Thanks.

 

[nutmac]

How could I go about this? I read that you can create a mail account now with the iCloud beta. Do I need to just pay for a developer account and download the iCloud beta? Or is iCloud going to be available with Lion from the start?

Even if you get a developer account, you wouldn't be able to use the @me.com address for email (you will be able to create the email address though). iTunes Match, Documents in the Cloud, and Mail are among the features that are not yet in beta testing.

 

[thunderbunny]

Even if you get a developer account, you wouldn't be able to use the @me.com address for email (you will be able to create the email address though). iTunes Match, Documents in the Cloud, and Mail are among the features that are not yet in beta testing.

You can send/receive mail to a @me.com account set up as part of iCloud beta. Can't create or move to folders yet.

 

[nutmac]

You can send/receive mail to a @me.com account set up as part of iCloud beta. Can't create or move to folders yet.

Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:

xxxxxx@me.com

Technical details of permanent failure:
Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the recipient domain. We recommend contacting the other email provider for further information about the cause of this error. The error that the other server returned was: 550 550 5.1.1 unknown or illegal alias: xxxxxx@me.com (state 14).

 

[alew]

I use iCloud on my iPhone and iMail. I have sent emails to my girlfriend and other contacts and they have all received and replied. So I think the mail part of iCloud is functional right now, just not thoroughly refined - it is a beta release after all...

And getting a developer's account is free. Getting the package that allows you access is what you have to pay for.

iCloud will be free and as of right now, it's not everything Apple has promised and it's far from ready for you to transfer all your data to so you should just be patient. You would also need 10.7.2 to run iCloud beta 5, both of which you can get once you subscribe to the OSX package. If you do end up getting it now in its beta stage, you'd find it under system preferences and "Mail, Contacts and Calendars" where you can set up your email and back up some messages and notes.