diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/rest/annotations/SinceApiVersion.java b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/rest/annotations/SinceApiVersion.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3451574025
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/rest/annotations/SinceApiVersion.java
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+/**
+ * Licensed to jclouds, Inc. (jclouds) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  jclouds licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+package org.jclouds.rest.annotations;
+
+import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.FIELD;
+import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.METHOD;
+import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.PARAMETER;
+import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.TYPE;
+import static java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME;
+
+import java.lang.annotation.Retention;
+import java.lang.annotation.Target;
+
+import javax.inject.Qualifier;
+
+import org.jclouds.Constants;
+import org.jclouds.ContextBuilder;
+
+/**
+ * Designates that this resource only exists since a particular
+ * {@link ApiVersion}.
+ * 
+ * For example, in EC2, the tag api only exists at or after version
+ * {@code 2010-08-31}
+ * 
+ * @author Adrian Cole
+ * @see ApiVersion
+ */
+@Target({ TYPE, METHOD, FIELD, PARAMETER })
+@Retention(RUNTIME)
+@Qualifier
+public @interface SinceApiVersion {
+
+   /**
+    * less than or equal to the String bound to {@link ApiVersion}, typically
+    * bound as either {@link Constants#PROPERTY_API_VERSION} property or
+    * {@link ContextBuilder#apiVersion}
+    * 
+    */
+   String value();
+
+}
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/rest/functions/ImplicitOptionalConverter.java b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/rest/functions/ImplicitOptionalConverter.java
index a80cf5c57a..548ccb7c35 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/rest/functions/ImplicitOptionalConverter.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/rest/functions/ImplicitOptionalConverter.java
@@ -66,8 +66,10 @@ import com.google.inject.ImplementedBy;
  * <li>call another api which can validate the feature can be presented</li>
  * </ul>
  * 
- * The {@link AlwaysPresentImplicitOptionalConverter default implementation}
- * always returns present. To override this, add the following in your subclass
+ * The {@link PresentWhenApiVersionLexicographicallyAtOrAfterSinceApiVersion
+ * default implementation} returns present if no {@link SinceApiVersion}
+ * annotation is assigned, or the value is less than or equal to the current
+ * {@link ApiVersion}. To override this, add the following in your subclass
  * override of {@link RestClientModule#configure} method:
  * 
  * <pre>
@@ -77,7 +79,7 @@ import com.google.inject.ImplementedBy;
  * @author Adrian Cole
  */
 @Beta
-@ImplementedBy(AlwaysPresentImplicitOptionalConverter.class)
+@ImplementedBy(PresentWhenApiVersionLexicographicallyAtOrAfterSinceApiVersion.class)
 public interface ImplicitOptionalConverter extends Function<ClassMethodArgsAndReturnVal, Optional<Object>> {
 
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/rest/functions/PresentWhenApiVersionLexicographicallyAtOrAfterSinceApiVersion.java b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/rest/functions/PresentWhenApiVersionLexicographicallyAtOrAfterSinceApiVersion.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ed0f4230ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/rest/functions/PresentWhenApiVersionLexicographicallyAtOrAfterSinceApiVersion.java
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+/**
+ * Licensed to jclouds, Inc. (jclouds) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  jclouds licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+package org.jclouds.rest.functions;
+
+import static com.google.common.base.Preconditions.checkNotNull;
+
+import javax.inject.Inject;
+import javax.inject.Singleton;
+
+import org.jclouds.internal.ClassMethodArgsAndReturnVal;
+import org.jclouds.rest.annotations.ApiVersion;
+import org.jclouds.rest.annotations.SinceApiVersion;
+
+import com.google.common.annotations.Beta;
+import com.google.common.annotations.VisibleForTesting;
+import com.google.common.base.Optional;
+import com.google.common.cache.CacheBuilder;
+import com.google.common.cache.CacheLoader;
+import com.google.common.cache.LoadingCache;
+
+/**
+ * 
+ * @author Adrian Cole
+ */
+@Beta
+@Singleton
+public class PresentWhenApiVersionLexicographicallyAtOrAfterSinceApiVersion implements ImplicitOptionalConverter {
+
+   @VisibleForTesting
+   static final class Loader extends CacheLoader<ClassMethodArgsAndReturnVal, Optional<Object>> {
+      private final String apiVersion;
+
+      @Inject
+      Loader(@ApiVersion String apiVersion) {
+         this.apiVersion = checkNotNull(apiVersion, "apiVersion");
+      }
+
+      @Override
+      public Optional<Object> load(ClassMethodArgsAndReturnVal input) {
+         Optional<SinceApiVersion> sinceApiVersion = Optional.fromNullable(input.getClazz().getAnnotation(
+               SinceApiVersion.class));
+         if (sinceApiVersion.isPresent()) {
+            String since = sinceApiVersion.get().value();
+            if (since.compareTo(apiVersion) <= 0)
+               return Optional.of(input.getReturnVal());
+            return Optional.absent();
+         } else {
+            // No SinceApiVersion annotation, so return present
+            return Optional.of(input.getReturnVal());
+         }
+      }
+   }
+
+   private final LoadingCache<ClassMethodArgsAndReturnVal, Optional<Object>> lookupCache;
+
+   @Inject
+   protected PresentWhenApiVersionLexicographicallyAtOrAfterSinceApiVersion(@ApiVersion String apiVersion) {
+      // no need to read class annotations for every request
+      this.lookupCache = CacheBuilder.newBuilder().build(new Loader(apiVersion));
+   }
+
+   @Override
+   public Optional<Object> apply(ClassMethodArgsAndReturnVal input) {
+      return lookupCache.getUnchecked(input);
+   }
+
+}
diff --git a/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/rest/functions/PresentWhenApiVersionLexicographicallyAtOrAfterSinceApiVersionTest.java b/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/rest/functions/PresentWhenApiVersionLexicographicallyAtOrAfterSinceApiVersionTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8bd5a8d965
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/src/test/java/org/jclouds/rest/functions/PresentWhenApiVersionLexicographicallyAtOrAfterSinceApiVersionTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,173 @@
+/**
+ * Licensed to jclouds, Inc. (jclouds) under one or more
+ * contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  jclouds licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+package org.jclouds.rest.functions;
+
+import static com.google.common.base.Throwables.propagate;
+import static org.testng.Assert.assertEquals;
+import static org.testng.Assert.assertTrue;
+
+import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+
+import org.jclouds.internal.ClassMethodArgsAndReturnVal;
+import org.jclouds.rest.annotations.Delegate;
+import org.jclouds.rest.annotations.SinceApiVersion;
+import org.jclouds.rest.functions.PresentWhenApiVersionLexicographicallyAtOrAfterSinceApiVersion.Loader;
+import org.testng.annotations.Test;
+
+import com.google.common.base.Optional;
+import com.google.common.base.Stopwatch;
+
+/**
+ * Allows you to use simple api version comparison to determine if a feature is
+ * available.
+ * 
+ * @author Adrian Cole
+ */
+@Test(groups = "unit")
+public class PresentWhenApiVersionLexicographicallyAtOrAfterSinceApiVersionTest {
+
+   // feature present in base api
+   static interface KeyPairAsyncApi {
+
+   }
+
+   @SinceApiVersion("2010-08-31")
+   static interface TagAsyncApi {
+
+   }
+
+   @SinceApiVersion("2011-01-01")
+   static interface VpcAsyncApi {
+
+   }
+
+   static interface EC2AsyncApi {
+
+      @Delegate
+      Optional<TagAsyncApi> getTagApiForRegion(String region);
+
+      @Delegate
+      Optional<KeyPairAsyncApi> getKeyPairApiForRegion(String region);
+
+      @Delegate
+      Optional<VpcAsyncApi> getVpcApiForRegion(String region);
+
+   }
+
+   public void testPresentWhenSinceApiVersionUnset() {
+      ImplicitOptionalConverter fn = forApiVersion("2011-07-15");
+      assertEquals(fn.apply(getKeyPairApi()), Optional.of("present"));
+      assertEquals(fn.apply(getFloatingIPApi()), Optional.of("present"));
+      assertEquals(fn.apply(getVpcApi()), Optional.of("present"));
+   }
+
+   public void testPresentWhenSinceApiVersionUnsetOrEqualToApiVersion() {
+      ImplicitOptionalConverter fn = forApiVersion("2011-01-01");
+      assertEquals(fn.apply(getKeyPairApi()), Optional.of("present"));
+      assertEquals(fn.apply(getFloatingIPApi()), Optional.of("present"));
+      assertEquals(fn.apply(getVpcApi()), Optional.of("present"));
+   }
+
+   public void testNotPresentWhenSinceApiVersionSetAndGreaterThanApiVersion() throws SecurityException,
+         NoSuchMethodException {
+      ImplicitOptionalConverter fn = forApiVersion("2006-06-26");
+      assertEquals(fn.apply(getKeyPairApi()), Optional.of("present"));
+      assertEquals(fn.apply(getFloatingIPApi()), Optional.absent());
+      assertEquals(fn.apply(getVpcApi()), Optional.absent());
+   }
+
+   private ImplicitOptionalConverter forApiVersion(String apiVersion) {
+      return new PresentWhenApiVersionLexicographicallyAtOrAfterSinceApiVersion(apiVersion);
+   }
+
+   public void testLoaderPresentWhenSinceApiVersionUnset() {
+      Loader fn = new Loader("2011-07-15");
+      assertEquals(fn.load(getKeyPairApi()), Optional.of("present"));
+      assertEquals(fn.load(getFloatingIPApi()), Optional.of("present"));
+      assertEquals(fn.load(getVpcApi()), Optional.of("present"));
+   }
+
+   public void testLoaderPresentWhenSinceApiVersionUnsetOrEqualToApiVersion() {
+      Loader fn = new Loader("2011-01-01");
+      assertEquals(fn.load(getKeyPairApi()), Optional.of("present"));
+      assertEquals(fn.load(getFloatingIPApi()), Optional.of("present"));
+      assertEquals(fn.load(getVpcApi()), Optional.of("present"));
+   }
+
+   public void testLoaderNotPresentWhenSinceApiVersionSetAndGreaterThanApiVersion() throws SecurityException,
+         NoSuchMethodException {
+      Loader fn = new Loader("2006-06-26");
+      assertEquals(fn.load(getKeyPairApi()), Optional.of("present"));
+      assertEquals(fn.load(getFloatingIPApi()), Optional.absent());
+      assertEquals(fn.load(getVpcApi()), Optional.absent());
+   }
+
+   public void testCacheIsFasterWhenNoAnnotationPresent() {
+      ClassMethodArgsAndReturnVal keyPairApi = getKeyPairApi();
+      ImplicitOptionalConverter fn = forApiVersion("2011-07-15");
+      Stopwatch watch = new Stopwatch().start();
+      fn.apply(keyPairApi);
+      long first = watch.stop().elapsedTime(TimeUnit.MICROSECONDS);
+      watch.reset().start();
+      fn.apply(keyPairApi);
+      long cached = watch.stop().elapsedTime(TimeUnit.MICROSECONDS);
+      assertTrue(cached < first, String.format("cached [%s] should be less than initial [%s]", cached, first));
+      Logger.getAnonymousLogger().info(
+            "lookup cache saved " + (first - cached) + " microseconds when no annotation present");
+   }
+
+   public void testCacheIsFasterWhenAnnotationPresent() {
+      ClassMethodArgsAndReturnVal floatingIpApi = getKeyPairApi();
+      ImplicitOptionalConverter fn = forApiVersion("2011-07-15");
+      Stopwatch watch = new Stopwatch().start();
+      fn.apply(floatingIpApi);
+      long first = watch.stop().elapsedTime(TimeUnit.MICROSECONDS);
+      watch.reset().start();
+      fn.apply(floatingIpApi);
+      long cached = watch.stop().elapsedTime(TimeUnit.MICROSECONDS);
+      assertTrue(cached < first, String.format("cached [%s] should be less than initial [%s]", cached, first));
+      Logger.getAnonymousLogger().info(
+            "lookup cache saved " + (first - cached) + " microseconds when annotation present");
+
+   }
+
+   ClassMethodArgsAndReturnVal getFloatingIPApi() {
+      return getApi("Tag", TagAsyncApi.class);
+   }
+
+   ClassMethodArgsAndReturnVal getKeyPairApi() {
+      return getApi("KeyPair", KeyPairAsyncApi.class);
+   }
+
+   ClassMethodArgsAndReturnVal getVpcApi() {
+      return getApi("Vpc", VpcAsyncApi.class);
+   }
+
+   ClassMethodArgsAndReturnVal getApi(String name, Class<?> type) {
+      try {
+         return ClassMethodArgsAndReturnVal.builder().clazz(type)
+               .method(EC2AsyncApi.class.getDeclaredMethod("get" + name + "ApiForRegion", String.class))
+               .args(new Object[] { "region" }).returnVal("present").build();
+      } catch (Exception e) {
+         throw propagate(e);
+      }
+   }
+
+}