Following Amazon.com’s release earlier this week of a cloud-based service for storage of music and other media files, the attention is turning to whether Apple will try to catch up by adding cloud capabilities to its iOS platform. Version 5 of iOS may be announced as early as the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in early June.
In addition to Amazon, the pressure on Apple to reinvent its cloud strategy also comes from Google’s Chrome OS and Hewlett-Packard’s webOS, both of which feature new support for cloud-based storage.
Storing Online
On Tuesday, Amazon announced the launch of its Cloud Drive, Cloud Player for Web, and Cloud Player for Android. The company said the new offerings enable customers to store music and other media online and then play it via any Mac, PC or Android-based device.
In the announcement, Amazon Vice President Bill Care said the launches eliminate “the need for constant software updates as well as the use of thumb drives and cables to move and manage music.”
Amazon customers start with a free 5GB of Cloud Drive storage, which is upgraded to 20GB for a year when they purchase a MP3 album from the retailer. There are also storage plans starting at $ 20 a year for 20GB.
Cloud Player for Web, also free, allows a user to listen to his or her music through a web browser. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari for Mac, and Chrome are supported. The free Cloud Player for Android, which is now bundled into the new version of the Amazon MP3 App, includes a mobile version of Cloud Player as well as the full Amazon MP3 Store.
Interestingly, there is currently no Amazon Cloud Player for Apple’s mobile devices.
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