Apple has just announced the launch date for iCloud as October 12.

The service, which stores users’ music, photos, apps, calendars and documents in the cloud, will be available to use for free, and is fully integrated within iOS 5. The service also allows users to backup their iOS device to the cloud, and users get five gigabytes of storage for free.

Furthermore, Apple is launching its “iTunes Match” service in the United States, which costs $24.99/year.

According to Apple, here are some of the key features of iCloud:

1. iTunes in the cloud
2. Photo Stream
3. Documents in the cloud