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ZumoDrive launches Palm webOS and Google Android clients

It is beneficial to have a cloud/server backup solution and quite handy to have mobile clients so you can access and view your stored files. ZumoDrive launched clients for Google Android and Palm webOS platforms.
Written by Matthew Miller, Contributing Writer

I've been checking out different cloud backup and mobile access solutions for the last few weeks and one company that I am considering just announced some new compelling clients that target exactly what I am using (Palm Pre Plus and Google Nexus One). ZumoDrive has been around for a while with Mac, PC, and iPhone clients and today they launched clients for Palm webOS and Google Android devices. With these mobile clients you can access and play your music and video files as well as view photos without having to sync or consume space on your smartphones.

As stated in the press release, features of the new Android and Palm Pre applications include:

  • Video streaming from ZumoDrive directly to the device in MP4, H.264 format
  • Music playback of all songs
  • Music organized by artist, albums, and even playlists created on other devices
  • Ability to stream music in the background
  • Ability to listen to music over both 3G or EDGE networks
  • Access to photo albums saved in ZumoDrive
  • Easy document access and viewing for Microsoft Office documents and PDF files
  • Ability to easily share files from ZumoDrive with anyone (Android)

I've been testing out some early versions of both of these clients and am quite pleased with their performance and capabilities. I have been trying other cloud syncing solutions with mobile clients, but this is the first one I have found with a webOS client. You can find these apps from the links above or in their respective mobile application stores.

webOS client

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You can view files with the webOS client and after launching the application you will find a main page with folders for Documents, Linked Folders, Music, and Pictures. Along the bottom you will find icons for file explorer, music, and photos. Music plays well in a ZumoDrive player interface while photos can be viewed and easily scrolled through on your webOS device. Movies open up in the default webOS movie player while files like PDFs open up in the applications that support viewing the files. There is no way to download the photo or music file to your webOS device and the application is strictly for viewing photos and movies and listening to music. This is the intent though as all the file storage is done on the server side while you enjoy the content over a wireless connection.

With the powerful multitasking capability of webOS, having a ZumoDrive client can be a very good way to view files stored on a server while still performing other tasks with your Palm Pre or Pixi. The utility performed very well on my Palm Pre Plus and I am seriously considering upgrading to a higher capacity account.

Google Android client

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The Google Android client is similar to the webOS client with a main Files screen that shows you the folders you have linked as well as documents, music, and pictures folders. There are tabs across the top for Files, Music, and Photos. Pressing the Menu button does nothing, but tapping and holding on a file gives you the options to Open or Share. Selecting Share lets you choose to send from one of your email clients. The client performed pretty well, but I did see the typical Android Force Close/Wait pop-up appear a couple of times.

One video file I tested on the Palm Pre Plus did not play on the Nexus One, but I am pretty sure that is because the Pre Plus supports more video codecs than Android.

Service improvements

ZumoDrive also made some improvements to their system so that now you can designate existing folders to link to your ZumoDrive rather than having to move files manually to specific locations. ZumoDrive also bumped up their free storage space from 1GB to 2GB and they have other pricing options for even more capacity.

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