Amazon's Cloud Drive and Player are now "unlimited," the company announced Wednesday, but a closer look reveals there are still some limits that may make music lovers look for another service as competition mounts in cloud media streaming.
The Seattle-based company's cloud service is now available for people to store and retrieve of unlimited amounts of music files for $20 a year. Non-music files will still have the 20-gigabyte limit of the free service, however, which isn't a lot of room for people looking to store videos or photographs virtually.
Also, "unlimited" in this case doesn't mean it's forever or even for anyone to use. Cloud Drive customers will have to pay to access unlimited storage, although non-paying customers can still upload 5 GB of music files from other sources to the Cloud Drive. They can also upload an unlimited amount of files if they've purchased them from Amazon.
Amazon, which entered the cloud game first, is also offering an iPad app for its cloud storage service. Since Apple will not be unveiling the iCloud until fall, Amazon is hoping to lure iPad users to its Cloud Drive in the meantime, deterring them from joining iCloud when it finally rolls out.
The host of new features and services may be Amazon's way of heading off mounting competition in cloud media services.
While Amazon was the first out of the gate, Apple's iCloud launch is expected to revolutionize cloud offerings. Apple could lure as many as 150 million users with the service, which is expected to debut around the same time as the much-anticipated launch of the iPhone 5.
While Amazon's cloud is still somewhat limited, Apple's iCloud promises to allow people to store and upload music, photos, books, calendars and much more. Furthermore, users should be able to access their items across all Apple devices, as well as PC and Mac computers. The service will also scan a user's hard drive for music and let them access digital copies in the cloud without having to upload files.
ITunes also has an advantage over Amazon and other similar services in that it already owns licensing rights to music from three of the four major music labels. While Amazon's number of choices is impressive, iCloud is set to grab songs from the much bigger iTunes music library.
Both players -- and their corresponding clouds -- have the advantage of being tied in with online stores, which should make it easier for customers to make and save their purchases. Google's own streaming service may not have that advantage, but the company's long-time experience with cloud integration may give it an edge.
For now, Amazon users will likely enjoy the Cloud Drive's storage capabilities, but there's a shadow on Amazon's horizon with Apple iCloud looming not far away and Google bringing up the rear.
Microsoft today announced it will offer its Office software suite in the cloud, in a move to compete against Google and harness the growing momentum towards Web-based services.
The Redmond, Wash.-based company said "Office 365," its cloud-based Office software, is available online in 40 markets. The long-running staple of business-related software will cost $6 per user for programs like Office Web Apps and Exchange e-mail. For an additional $12 per month, companies can add full versions of Office, which include Word and Excel programs.
By offering Office from the cloud, Microsoft eliminates the need to work from a single computer or hard-drive. Cloud gives businesses and their employees access to documents and files from multiple devices, including smartphones, tablets and computers, away from the office.
Office 365 will compete against Google's business service, Google Apps, which offers similar services, including e-mail, messaging and word documents. Google's service is cheaper than Office 365, costing only $50 per year per user.
Microsoft is also hoping Office 365 expands beyond enterprise-level customers and attracts small and mid-sized business. The software allows users to connect to each other through the cloud, rather than through traditional, expensive servers.
Microsoft estimates companies who switch to cloud with an average of 1,000-employees will save about $350,000 over a four-year period.
The company's offering comes as rivals move towards cloud services. Amazon, Apple and Google introduced cloud-based music services, which store and stream songs from servicers rather than hard drives. Like Microsoft's service, users aren't constrained to one device or computer, but can access their data by connecting to the cloud.
Apple's iCloud service is taking things a step further, allowing users to store photos and other files on the cloud as well. The company also said it is doing away with hard-wires in favor of Wi-Fi-syncing. This method allows users to update calendars, contacts, music and photos all with one push of a button on their Apple devices.
Microsoft recently released details about its upcoming SkyDrive storage, which will launch with its Windows Phone Mango update. SkyDrive will let users store photos and Office documents in the cloud by e-mail, text and instant messaging. A user can upload videos taken from a Microsoft Mango-updated device to SkyDrive as well.
Mango is expected to include a browser to allow users to view their files, including folders that other SkyDrive users have shared with them.
Cloud-based computing and storage is still in its infancy, but mobile devices will continue to evolve and expand their services as the cloud's importance grows.
Apple's iCloud music storage service could draw millions of users when it launches, spelling trouble for companies like Google and Amazon that are trying to compete with their own services.
The Royal Bank of Canada, or RBC, is predicting Apple could see as many as 150 million users join the company's iCloud music storage service when it debuts this fall. RBC found nearly three-quarters of the 1,500 iPhone users surveyed said they would sign up for the service.
Apple's iCloud, set to launch free with iOS 5, will allow users to upload music, photos, books calendars and other files to Apple servers. They can use the service to access their data on a number of different devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and both PC and Mac computers.
"This high response rate affirms the growing interest in storing, syncing and sharing music, photos and documents across multiple devices such as smartphones, tablet, PCs and TVs," said Mike Abramsky of RBC.
If RBC's prediction comes to pass, iCloud would become an instant rival to other networks that have been around for several years. Google's Gmail and related services have about 200 million users; Apple could receive 150 million users through iCloud, basically overnight.
Though this is great news for Apple, it could spell disaster for competitors like Amazon's Cloud Player and Google Music, both of which allow users to store and stream music like Apple's iCloud. Both of these services lack the features and functionality offered by Apple.
Amazon and Google's cloud services, as an example, force users to upload music to the cloud themselves, which could take days depending on the size of library. Since both services don't offer the level features found in Apple's service, consumers may choose Apple over other options.
RBC also discovered about 30 percent of those surveyed would sign up for iTunes Match, which allows users to upload music not purchased through iTunes on the cloud for $25 a year. This revenue would boost Apple's profits $1.5 billion annually, according to RBC.
Amazon charges $50 for every 5,000 songs uploaded to its service. For a user with a music library of 20,000 songs, it would run them an annual fee of $200. Apple charges a flat rate of $25 per year, much cheaper than Amazon. If consumers choose their service with their wallet, Amazon may not be able to compete with iCloud.
Abramsky believes iCloud's ability to link several Apple products together could cement customer loyalty, which is already very high.
"Because it stores user data, iCloud, along with iTunes, is expected to enhance loyalty and stickiness of Apple's customers against threats from Android, helping grow a defensible install base of users who continually upgrade to next generation Macs, iPhones, iPads and iPods."
Apple appears to have won over a strong majority of people to its customer base, who are already excited about iCloud, and could draw in even more users to the ranks of Apple loyalists through its cloud services. Google and Amazon must scramble to get their respective services up to par with Apple's if they wish to succeed in the cloud.
Sony today announced its "Music Unlimited" cloud-based music service for Android, joining an already fiercely-competitive streaming music field.
The Tokyo-based company's subscription-based music service is available on all smartphones running Android 2.1 or later. The app is free to download from Google's marketplace, but users must pay a monthly fee to access the service's features.
Sony offers two different pay scales, $4 and $10 per month, including a one-month free trial.
Users who opt for the cheaper plan can expect an Internet radio service, much like Pandora, plus a scan-and-match feature similar to Apple's iTunes Match. The feature allows Sony to scan a person's music library -- including iTunes -- and then let him or her to listen to those songs on any Android handset without having to upload the songs to Sony's server.
The more expensive service, at $10 per month, offers both the radio and scan-and-stream, and also allows users to listen to songs they don't already own. Premium customers have access to the seven million songs in Sony's Qriocity library, including music from all four major record labels.
Users must stream songs to their smartphone or computer, rather than downloading.
Sony's jump from the PC and PlayStation 3 to the mobile field has already put pressure on other companies looking to make a push in the cloud. Both Amazon's Cloud Player and Google Music lack licensing rights from record companies and publishers. Without those rights, users must upload their music libraries to each company's cloud, a process which can take hours to complete depending on the collection.
Sony's Music Unlimited even one-ups cloud front-runner Apple's iCloudby allowing users to stream music they don't already own. ICloud users are restricted to only streaming songs they own, a huge disadvantage against the enormous selection offered on Sony's service.
Though Sony appears to be toe-and-toe with the iCloud service, it could falter because of pricing. ICloud users who have purchased most, if not all, of their music through iTunes don't have to pay a dime to stream any of their music. If a user wants to stream music not purchased through iTunes, he or she must pay a yearly fee of $25.
A Sony Music Unlimited user, by contrast, can spend between $48 and $120 per year to access the service. There are more songs and content for users to access, but Sony could be in trouble if consumers choose a cloud music service with their wallets and not their ears. Apple's service maxes out at $25 per year.
Sony may also have to contend with the high-profile data breaches that rocked the company for much of this spring. Consumer confidence may be shaken in the company, and potential users may wait and see until the company has truly shored up its security.
The race to the cloud is in full swing and Sony has brought its A-game. Its entry into the the mobile music offering will no doubt put pressure on its competitors to step up their games as well.
HP is looking to make a splash in the mobile world by releasing its first tablet device and joining competitors in the cloud, but the company's late arrival to both may be too much to overcome.
According to music industry publication Billboard, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company is looking to compete with Apple, Amazon and Google by building a cloud-based music streaming and storage service. HP is currently in talks with major music labels to back its service, sources say, and it could even be trying to bring movies and television shows to its service as well.
HP is looking to one-up the competition by allowing users to stream music they don't already own, possibly like Pandora radio. Apple's iCloud, Amazon's Cloud Player and Google Music all allow users to store or stream music directly on the cloud servers, and stream or download them to multiple devices. These three services only allow users to stream the music they own and have the rights to.
HP could gain a leg up on the competition if they can secure the rights to allow users to stream music they don't already own.
HP is still possibly six months away from securing anything, people familiar with the matter said, and Google and Amazon are ahead of HP in terms of securing the licensing rights from record companies.
Apple was the front-runner in securing rights, and now has deals with all four "big labels."
Timing is everything, and the fact that HP is coming a little late to the party puts it at an early disadvantage. Both Amazon and Google have services up-and-running which allow users to stream music and store files in the cloud.
Apple last week announced its iCloud service, with many analysts believing this service will be the measuring stick in the early days of cloud services. The winner in the cloud storage race could be determined before HP even enters the race, or it may benefit from its competitors' early stumbling.
The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company also announced last week its first tablet, the WebOS-based TouchPad, will hit shelves July 1. HP's 16-gigabyte model will cost $500 while the 32-gigabyte will set consumers back $600.
HP could have trouble breaking through in both the tablet and cloud businesses, where Apple has dominated since it debuted the original iPad in April 2010, selling more than 25 million units in just over 12 months. The company plans to sell eight million units this quarter, which would exceed analyst predictions of seven million.
Though Apple has dominated the tablet business, HP also has other companies to leapfrog if it hopes to be a major player. HTC, Motorola, RIM and Samsung all have tablet devices on the market, making it a crowded industry to break into at this stage.
There is still time for HP to make a dent in both the tablet and cloud businesses, which are heavily populated by big-time players like Apple, Google and Motorola, but HP must offer something consumers cannot get anywhere else in order to succeed.
The era of cloud-computing is approaching, but some are concerned wireless carriers may face obstacles in their race to keep up with network and data demands.
Companies like Google, Amazon and Apple are all entering the cloud, offering consumers the chance to store their music, photos, and files all on a remote server. By storing these files online, users are able access this data across a wide range of devices, including PCs, smartphones and tablets.
It sounds seamless, convenient, and efficient, but these advantages will come at a price. Wireless carriers are expected to struggle with the increased demands of data and spectrum as smartphone popularity continues to increase. And, network bandwidth is tightening as more and more smartphones jump on an already crowded highway, leading to slower network speeds.
"The tonnage of traffic on the network is growing," said Fared Adib, vice president of product development for Sprint Nextel. "That's an issue wireless providers are dealing with. And I think its too early to say how the cloud services will affect all of us. As an industry, the ecosystem needs to work together on these issues."
Services like Apple's iCloud and and other music-based cloud storage services like Google Music and Amazon's Cloud Player, could potentially eat up more bandwidth than just downloading a song once and storing it on a PC. Each time a user listens to a song stored in the cloud, that person will use bandwidth to stream the file, increasing bandwidth and lowering speeds continuously throughout the day.
The increases of network-connected devices like tablets and netbooks are major reasons for the spike in bandwidth, and there is no reduction in sight: on average, a U.S. consumer will have around seven network-connected devices by 2015, according to predictions. And this may pose a problem for networks already coping with overworked spectrum.
AT&T has struggled to keep up with data demands since the iPhone debuted in 2007. In four years, data traffic on its network has increased 8,000 percent. AT&T said by 2015, the company will handle as much wireless data in a month and a half as it did in all of 2010. The result of the increased traffic will lead to slower network speeds and dropped calls, which is already a problem for the network.
AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson said the only way for wireless companies to keep up with the demand is to increase spectrum. AT&T is currently working a $39 billion merger with T-Mobile to shore up spectrum for the company and its customers, according to the company. He said that without the increase, wireless customers will see problems with dropped calls and network speeds.
One way wireless carriers are managing rising data consumption is to ditch unlimited data plans and offer tiered data plans for several devices. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile have both introduced shared data plans for several devices on the same plan, with each device using a portion of the data each month. Shared data plans could be the first step for carriers to create limited monthly data plans, which they see as a tool to better manage spectrum issues.
"I think once you have so many devices that you're carrying, you may want a shared plan," said Ralph de la Vega, AT&T Mobility CEO. "The more focus groups that we do, the more we think that may be the way."
But whether it is enough as more and more consumers stream media on devices remains to be seen. Consumers may be hit in the pocketbook in unexpected ways if they go over allotted data amounts.
Cloud services may be ushering in the next movement of mobile computing and storage, and many companies like Apple are relying on them to bring in new sources of revenue. But there are still a few scattered clouds of the spectrum crunch type on the horizon, which may need to be cleared before the sunshine of speedy cloud service comes.
Cloud services from Apple and Google can help fight piracy, as their inexpensive cost and ease might result in a decline of illegal media downloads.
According to Victoria Espinel, coordinator of U.S. intellectual property enforcement, companies like Apple, with its iCloud, and Google, with its cloud-storage services, do more to combat Internet piracy than government laws can do.
"In order for the Internet to be as productive and compelling as possible, we need to have active engagement from companies that interact and benefit from Internet commerce," she said at the World Copyright Summit in Brussels, Belgium.
A spate of recent cloud-based media streaming and storage services have been introduced in the past few months, the most recent being Apple's iCloud. The service has the blessing of the music industry, with Apple inking agreements with all four major record companies and several music publishers, and boasts several features that are tightly integrated with digital-rights management technology in Apple's iTunes platform.
Apple, which introduced iCloud on Monday, allows users to stream their music on any device free of charge as long as the files were purchased through iTunes. In a move to possibly please the music industry, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company plans to charge users a $25 flat-rate to stream music not purchased through iTunes. Although this fee covers music ripped from hard-copy CDs, it also covers music downloaded illegally.
Apple will divide revenue from iCloud between both record labels and music publishers. Apple will keep 30 percent, while labels receive 58 percent, and publishers the remaining 12. The agreement is beneficial for both Apple and the record industry, which will receive a portion of the revenue collected from the yearly user fees. Apple now gives users a reason to purchase music solely through iTunes.
Cloud services from Apple and companies like Amazon and Google also offer consumers other incentives, such as secure systems to allow people to host and stream music and other media files. These companies can also offer high-quality services, including music and photo storage, giving consumers more bang for their buck and steering them away from illegal downloads.
These systems also allow users to free-up hard drive space that can be greatly reduced by illegal downloads. Once a user purchases or uploads a file to the cloud, they no longer need to store it on their personal hard drive, as they can access it directly from the cloud.
If these companies can create systems secure enough so third-parties cannot gain access to them, the result could be very appealing to a consumer.
"If it is possible to construct it so that it cannot be compromised, it may have the effect of reducing piracy by giving value to consumers -- the ability to own forever and access almost anywhere -- that cannot be obtained with illegal copies," said Espinel.
Besides making their cloud services easily accessible and attractive, digital retailers have helped fight piracy by making music and movies inexpensive. Consumers can scan through online retailers like iTunes and Amazon.com and purchase albums for just a few dollars, receiving high-quality songs and movies nearly instantly. Those who choose illegal methods often find themselves downloading a free file for hours on end, only to discover it is low-quality and sometimes unwatchable and, as a result, not worth it.
Piracy will never be eliminated entirely. Even if iTunes or Amazon charged $1 for an entire album, there would still be those who would illegally download files. But if companies can offer affordable alternatives which make it worth it to consumers, they can take a bite out of piracy.
Microsoft released details about its upcoming SkyDrive storage update, set to launch with its Windows Phone Mango update, as the company looks to catch up to competitors.
An expanded SkyDrive, which will release this fall along with Microsoft Windows Mango update, allows users to store photos and Office documents in the cloud through email, text and instant messaging. A user can upload videos to SkyDrive as well if they are shot on a device using Microsoft's Mango update of its Windows Phone OS. Mango will also include a browser to allow users to view their files, including folders that other SkyDrive users have share with them.
The Windows Phone Office Hub in Mango will also allow users to search for specific files saved to SkyDrive.
Microsoft sees this Mango update as a way to become a larger player in the smartphone business. After its early success in 2002 with Windows Mobile, the company has had a difficult time staying relevant in the handset market, and currently owns just 7.5 percent of the smartphone market.
Microsoft competitors Apple, Google and Amazon have already made the jump to cloud-based computing; Apple's recent iCloud announcement has pulled attention to the burgeoning importance of cloud services and their role in a larger mobile landscape. SkyDrive's cloud-based components coupled with social networking and app integration could see Microsoft regaining its footing in the very competitive smartphone business.
The Mango update will include 500 new features, including the Windows Phone 7.5 update for faster app switching, Twitter integration, turn-by-turn GPS navigation and podcast support. The update will also usher in Internet Explorer 9 which will support HTML 5, allowing more advanced Web sites to work seamlessly on Windows mobile devices.
The company will also introduce "Bing Vision" with Mango, an application that allows a user to scan an item using with a camera and search for it on Bing immediately. For example, if a person scans a book, the phone will search for it and even bring up the page for the user to purchase it from Amazon's Kindle app.
The Mango update will also offer more streamlined integration between messaging and social network, by allowing users to integrate Facebook and Twitter links directly into their contact list for one-click connection from the same application.
Microsoft's ability to integrate cloud computing with new application features and social networking might go a long way to helping the company gain its footing in the highly-competitive smartphone business.
Apple may add movies to its new cloud-streaming service, joining the fray of an already crowded video streaming turf-war.
Apple is in talks with movie companies, including Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox, according to CNET, to allow Apple to stream movies its customers own through Apple's iCloud streaming service, which will be unveiled next week at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference.
Streaming movies would work the same way as streaming music. With a user's permission, the iCloud would search through an iTunes library for previously owned movies, and then enable those movies to stream wirelessly. For example, a customer who owns "The King's Speech" on their desktop or laptop computer would get the store's permission before being able to stream that movie from the cloud on any device.
For that to happen, though, Apple must reach an agreement with the film's studio.
Apple has many hurdles to jump before arriving at a deal between Warner Bros. Pictures, 20th Century Fox and NBC Universal and HBO. For one thing, HBO currently prevents any digital distributor or cable network from showing a movie that is currently being shown on the paid cable network.
Many companies, including Time Warner, the parent company of both HBO and Warner Bros., feel there is a difference between selling a movie that's on HBO and allowing a person to stream a movie they already own. Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, who has stated he is a fan of cloud media, is currently working on coming to an agreement between both parties.
If Apple is successful in landing movie companies, they may emerge as major competition to the industry leader, Netflix. The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company has seen its figures skyrocket in the last year, thanks to the introduction of its streaming-only plan which gives customers the option of forgoing movies by mail in favor of only having access to digital movies.
The company added nearly seven million subscribers over the past year, and currently accounts for nearly 25 percent of all Internet traffic.
Along with Netflix, other sites like Hulu and YouTube have also entered into streaming and renting of movies. Like Netflix, Hulu offers both free and paid services, with the paid service offering more content of both movies and television shows. YouTube does not have a monthly fee, but rather charges by the rental.
Social network giant Facebook has also begun renting movies on its site as well, rounding out an early list of players in which will likely become a booming market.
Wireless infrastructure provider Movirtu has created a cloud-based mobile phone service, allowing those living below the poverty line in the Third World to join the mobile age more easily.
The U.K.-based company's new service provides users with a unique phone number, accessible on any mobile phone, free of SIM cards, handset hardware or additional software that could cost cash-strapped users more money.
Much of the Third World connects to information and banking services through mobile phones instead of computers, but even the cost of owning a phone can be prohibitive, with handsets often being borrowed or shared among communities.
Movirtu's cloud-based phone services are aimed at those living in rural areas on less than $2 a day. Eighty percent of people living below the poverty line in rural sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia do not own a phone or SIM card.
By detaching phone service from hardware or even SIM cards, Movirtu's service lets Third World citizens easily share phones or borrow handsets from others while still retaining their own number, allowing them to send and receive mobile money and information services as well as make and receive calls and texts on any phone as if it were their own.
Severing the traditional connection between numbers and SIM cards and hardware opens up phone service to a broader swath of customers, giving them a way into what is an increasingly vital connection to the global world.
The idea of a truly portable cloud phone service could easily be expanded beyond the Third World as well. A growing number of handset owners in the developed work own more than one SIM or device, often for work and personal user -- over 1 billion mobile phone subscriptions in developed markets are duplicate accounts. A cloud-based phone could most likely be welcomed in this growing segment, and the idea could take flight with frequent travelers and businesses as well.
Movirtu gives phone numbers mobility through software called MXShare, which is installed in the core network of the mobile carrier. Revenue will be shared between Movirtu and the local carrier. The service itself functions much like a prepaid account, and the cloud phone customer uses vouchers, apps and carrier service, much like any other prepaid user.
The company is currently partnering with Airtel in Madagascar to deploy the service and plans to expand the service to other markets this year.
Movirtu is a for-profit social enterprise that provides wireless infrastructure to sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
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