So it's basically the same as setting up an EC2 node in AWS with WP? Which 'can be' free. Though I guess this service will be easier for people who not have the know-how or not want to bother for doing it themselves?

You are right, this will be more a "service aggregation". Basically we will be giving you the ability to launch, manage and customize WP instances. Not all hosting are equal and not all cloud providers can support "efficiently" a WordPress site. That's why we wanted to merge all together the possbilities cloud-based IT infrastructure has to offer with a great CMS. This will ensure your WordPress will stay optimized, updated, secure and scalable at least on the technical side. A lot more details will be available soon.

I find it amazing that when people launch their 'coming soon' pages they don't include a short description of the service.

"WordPress in the Cloud" gives very little information about what you actually offer..

Totally agree, in fact we where not aware that our beta page was published on Hacker News :) Again, sorry for the lack of technical details here, will be done very soon.

Isn't that what WordPress.com is?

Yes, kind of like wordpress.com but a little more flexible and consistent. This is NOT multisite (WP-MU) or anything like that. All the details will be available soon.

i guess it would depend on your ability to install plugins not sanctioned by wordpress or certain custom themes.

Last i checked there was only a limited selection of plugins on wordpress.com