Between the Lines

Larry Dignan, Andrew Nusca and Rachel King
Home / News & Blogs / Between the Lines

Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer

By | March 29, 2011, 2:21am PDT

Summary: Amazon launched cloud Drive and Cloud Player for Web and Android—three services that allow you to store music in a repository and play on the Web and smartphones.

Amazon on Tuesday launched cloud Drive and Cloud Player for Web and Android—three services that allow you to store music in a repository and play on the Web and smartphones.

Among the key points:

  • You can upload your library.
  • Anyone that bought an Amazon MP3 can get 20GB for free.
  • Mac and PC compatible.
  • On Android, the Cloud Player is an update to the Amazon MP3 app.
  • Everyone starts with 5GB of Cloud Drive storage.
  • Cloud Drive uses Amazon Web Services S3.
  • Plans start at 20GB for $20 a year and basically run $1 a year per GB.

With the move Amazon gets the jump on other services that are likely from Apple and Google.

Here are three thoughts on the move:

  • First, Cloud Drive is a big piece of Amazon’s tablet ambitions. The service will be critical to uploading content for any tablet that Amazon launches. And Amazon’s Android market rides shotgun.
  • If Amazon doesn’t launch a tablet it just put itself at the center of the Android ecosystem.
  • Cloud Drive is about music today, but it’s essentially a cloud service for other things like documents and photos.

And finally, Cloud Drive is very easy to use. It’s essentially the consumerization of Amazon Web Services.

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

More from “Between the Lines”

Topics

Android Tablet PC, Amazon.com Inc., Cloud Drive, Tablets, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic.

Disclosure

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan has nothing to disclose. He doesn’t hold investments in the technology companies he covers.

Biography

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic. He was most recently Executive Editor of News and Blogs at ZDNet. Prior to that he was executive news editor at eWeek and news editor at Baseline. He also served as the East Coast news editor and finance editor at CNET News.com. Larry has covered the technology and financial services industry since 1995, publishing articles in WallStreetWeek.com, Inter@ctive Week, The New York Times, and Financial Planning magazine. He's a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and the University of Delaware.

For daily updates, follow Larry on Twitter.

65
Comments
Add Your Opinion

Join the conversation!

Just In

RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
tringo007 29th Sep
Great goods from you, man. I have understand your stuff previous to and you are just too great. I really like what you have acquired here, really like what you are saying and the way in which you say it. You make it entertaining and you still care for to keep it sensible. I can't wait to read much more from you. This is really a terrific site. gates millenium scholarship
View in thread
0 Votes
+ -
So, 5GB is free, but consumes your entire data plan allocation?
terry flores Updated - 29th Mar 2011
Use it to any extent and quickly get into overage charges. If I was Amazon, I would be asking AT&T and Verizon to kick back money. This is a sure revenue-generator for them.
0 Votes
+ -
So, 5GB is free, but consumes your entire data plan allocation?
aliball68 29th Mar 2011
@terry flores Do you mean overcharges on your mobile provider's monthly limit? Or do you mean Amazon's charge for streaming data? If the first option, then yes, I'd agree that you're going to need to be careful if not using it over Wifi. What I'm not sure about is that normally Amazon charge for putting and reading data from S3 - are they going to use this method for streaming your data? If so, then it might get expensive.
Thoughts?
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
terry flores Updated - 29th Mar 2011
@aliball68

My current Verizon plan is capped at 5GB/month. Using this service over Wifi is plausible, but it's also another mindless constraint I have to deal with. Why should I have to?? I can carry around 32GB of stuff with me on a device the size of a postage stamp and with a transfer rate of 10MBps. So what's the holdup for so many people? Apple, and its refusal to include an industry-standard SD/SDmicro card slot on iPhooey products.

My answer to them is: My LG phone, Nook Color tablet and HP laptop, all of which accept the SDmicro card with no problem. No need to upload, download, login, wait, or fret about billing. Problem solved.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
tommobran 29th Mar 2011
@aliball68 From what I've read, the music is not streamed, but rather downloaded to the device. I tried it this morning and my 3G coverage sat buffering.
0 Votes
+ -
Effectively it's WiFi only, but how good would it be over 3G anyway?
DevJonny 29th Mar 2011
@terry flores

You'd definitely have to do the initial upload over WiFi. But after that you'd have to he sparing withit to not breach your data plan (mine is 500mb I think).

Although you would need to take into account compression vs quality as well, especially with videos. If you want it to look good on a tablet, it will need a higher resolution (and therefore large file size) than if you wanted to view on a phone.

A promising service that will be limited by the carriers & availablity of WiFi hotspots me thinks!
0 Votes
+ -
Streaming over 3G Works Well
remilk Updated - 29th Mar 2011
@DevJonny I tested it by tutning off wifi. The streaming of music over 3G seems to work well, I listened to mp3s for about an hour with no blips.

Bob
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
absr_1@... 29th Mar 2011
@terry flores I don't know what service plan you have but my Verizon android phone (htc incredible) has unlimited. between the Pandora/Slacker I stream at work for 8 hours every day and all the apps that constantly update that I download I'm using around 6-7GB a month in data and have yet to hear a peep from Verizon about it.
0 Votes
+ -
That is nothing short of awesome!
DevJonny 29th Mar 2011
@absr_1@...

Would you mind saying how much you pay for that? I believe 3 here in the UK are offering all-you-can-eat plans now.
0 Votes
+ -
Not everyone pays overages and has data caps
coachgeorge 29th Mar 2011
@terry flores
There are independent thinkers that didn't get sucked into Verizon or ATT that still have unlimited plans at a very reasonable price.
Come on, you know who you are.....
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
ypcho 29th Mar 2011
I am now using 20GB free from Daum cloud and 10GB free from Naver, daum and naver are korean portal. why should we pay for it? Also broadband and carrier give free cloud drive.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
tringo007 29th Sep
Great goods from you, man. I have understand your stuff previous to and you are just too great. I really like what you have acquired here, really like what you are saying and the way in which you say it. You make it entertaining and you still care for to keep it sensible. I can't wait to read much more from you. This is really a terrific site. gates millenium scholarship
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
Mike (not Cox) 29th Mar 2011
3...2...1 Here comes the RIAA barking.
0 Votes
+ -
Because, of course, we all want to upload 5GB of
fr_gough Updated - 29th Mar 2011
music to the cloud because our MP3 player can't hold it all. Oh. Wait. It can.
0 Votes
+ -
Because, of course, we all want to upload 5GB of
aliball68 29th Mar 2011
@frgough@... Yes, of course any MP3 player can hold 5Gb these days. That's not really the point. The point is that the music on your MP3 player can only be played from your MP3 player. The world has moved on a bit since then, and it's now all about how we can access our documents (music, video, work files) from anywhere in the world without being restricted to hardware.
Personally, I welcome this free 5Gb (it is free after all) as a way to help moving into the cloud and not having to worry if my hardware where my files are stored breaks. It doesn't matter if it's in the cloud - just connect with another device.
I agree that we have a long way to go with infrastructure, 4G, Wifi etc etc but free services like this are really good progress. IMHO.
0 Votes
+ -
What devices to you listen to music from?
fr_gough 29th Mar 2011
Your MP3 player, your car stereo, which you usually plug your MP3 player into, your computer, which holds the music you sync with your MP3 player and your home stereo, which probably streams the music stored on your computer you sync your MP3 player to.
0 Votes
+ -
The key here is access
use_what_works_4_U 29th Mar 2011
@frgough@...
Since I have purchased Amazon MP3s quite a few times, I am really looking forward to setting this up with 20GB when I get home. My HTC EVO Shift came with a measly 2GB microSD card and I've been pricing out larger ones just to get my library on the phone. I was about to order one today in fact. Now with 20 GB online storage that will stream to my Android (over WiMax 4G when I'm in the right areas) with an "everything unlimited" data plan from Sprint, this really works for me.
0 Votes
+ -
Ah. So what you are saying is that Amazon is catering
fr_gough 29th Mar 2011
to the Android crowd who bought devices with almost no memory in them.
0 Votes
+ -
Easy upgrade
coachgeorge 29th Mar 2011
@frgough@...
Buy one album from them @ $6.99 and you have 20GIG!
Sounds cheap to me.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
jack42 29th Mar 2011
@coachgeorge

The fine print of that is, you get 20Gb free *for the first year*; after that, normal charges apply.
0 Votes
+ -
What does this service do
Stan57 29th Mar 2011
What does this service do except store your music on someone Else's HDD? A total waste of money. HDDs are dirt cheap and easily connected to any smart phone/device for backup,storage. This reeks of overage charges,abuse
0 Votes
+ -
Much More Useful than Just Storage!
remilk 29th Mar 2011
@Stan57 This allows over-the-air streaming of your music to your smartphones without having to lug along a HDD. I still download the music to a HDD for backup or is it I upload for backup and over-the-air streaming.
0 Votes
+ -
it's not just about music
dwcfastrice 29th Mar 2011
@Stan57 , it's not just about music. It's cloud storage. I now have "my documents", "my pictures", and "my videos" backed up on THEIR servers. Not an SD card which can be lost, not a thumbdrive which can get lost or broken and not a hard disk that can be lost or broken. If we look beyond the article and its "mediacentric" focus, this Clouddrive is actually a good thing.

D
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
Gritztastic 29th Mar 2011
@Stan57 It can be used as a cloud backup in case of theft/fire (though personally I'd stick with a dedicated cloud backup service for this type of coverage, such as Backblaze or Mozy). Not sure how it reeks of overage charges and abuse though, unless you are referring to data caps from Wireless Telcos.
0 Votes
+ -
HDD on your phone hmmm.. that would be a strange add on...
markj73 29th Mar 2011
@Stan57 Really? how would that be to drag around a 3.5 or 2.5" HDD and how does that attach to your phone again??? USB port on there works for that, neat! /sarcasm Sure would look ugly... and kill your battery to power it wow!
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
jfarber@... 29th Mar 2011
I use box.net to store and play mp3's.

inexpensive, no wifi ( but that's not how I used it ), widgets to automatically play mp3's and links to share my library with friends. No burning CD's and mailing them around.

Plus box is constantly adding features and are good people.

S100bus
0 Votes
+ -
Microsoft SkyDrive meets Amazon MP3 store meets iTunes style mobile store/p
bradavon 29th Mar 2011
Microsoft SkyDrive meets Amazon MP3 store meets iTunes style mobile store/player.
0 Votes
+ -
DRM Anyone...?
wallace_marke@... 29th Mar 2011
Larry--what will they do regarding DRM material (who plays cop here)?

-Cheers
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
Gritztastic 29th Mar 2011
@wallace_marke@...If I remember correctly, there is no DRM on Amazon mp3s, so probably nothing for most users. There is probably TOS limits to prevent stuff like seeding torrents of pirated data stored directly from AWS, but I do not know for sure.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
PatHMV 29th Mar 2011
Why in the world would I want to HAVE to have some sort of internet connection to listen to my music? I see nothing at all in Amazon's promotional materials about syncing with local storage. If I put all my music in the Amazon Cloud, do I have to manually manage local copies through an entirely different system, or will it automatically sync with my local device storage?

I mean, if this service worked more or less like DropBox, combining both cloud and local storage seamlessly, then I'd be all for it. But as currently described, this service is utterly useless to me.
0 Votes
+ -
Finally!
30otnix 29th Mar 2011
This was the final piece of the puzzle for me me moving 100% to the cloud and the CR-48. With this I can have my entire collection available via my phone, my laptop, my media server, my PS3 and anyone else's connected device as well. All without ever moving an SD card or syncing anything!
0 Votes
+ -
Same Difference
argon0 29th Mar 2011
And what is the real difference here between Amazon's new service and Google's "old one"that I store all my photos/docs/mp3s on (at $5/year for 25GB) is it that there is an app you can stream stuff from, or ?
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
shettinger 29th Mar 2011
Good start in the right direction, it will take a long time to get the cloud to be more common use but in the long run it sure seems to be the way things are heading. My biggest concern still is privacy.
0 Votes
+ -
too much for too little
twiddly 29th Mar 2011
My digital music collection is over 100gb.
Would love to put it in the cloud but way too expensive.
For one year's cost of the cloud, I just use external terabyte drive.
0 Votes
+ -
Encryption?
knot44 29th Mar 2011
I looked all through the Amazon documentation I could find, and didn't see anything about the data being stored encrypted. Does anybody else know?
0 Votes
+ -
Misdirection...
zdnet@... 29th Mar 2011
I think you guys are barking up the wrong tree.

I honestly can't figure out what's so great about this deal as far as listening to music goes. It's not about to replace iTunes for those who have it.

I've got a semi-smart Nokia Neuron which has an SD slot in it. I've got an 8GB flash and it's nearly full of my own audio. That's one of the main reasons I bought it, in fact. Why eat up bandwidth when you can carry it with you?

Mainly, I see this service as competing with Dropbox and similar services; Dropbox charges $10/mo or $99/yr for a 50GB cloud drive that syncs up between all of your devices. This service is way cheaper than Dropbox. I'd MUCH PREFER a service that constantly syncs my files across my devices to one that is always "streaming on demand". Dropbox doesn't work with my Neuron yet, although I wouldn't care if it does. It probably does work with Apple's mobile devices.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
jeverettk 30th Mar 2011
@zdnet@...
That's not really what misdirection means.
0 Votes
+ -
3...2...1....
davey23 Updated - 29th Mar 2011
When do the lawsuits start?

I'm sure they realize that the **AA's assert that this sort of placeshifting is against copyright law.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
BarNoneCS 29th Mar 2011
Microsoft SkyDrive has 25 Gb free. I'm sure there's other, less costly examples. Even the 2Gb free Dropbox has autosync with all devices. Just drag and drop to sync. Covers most of my field installables.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
bb_apptix 29th Mar 2011
Because of this, my life is now complete...
0 Votes
+ -
How long till it FAILs?
hennonspam@... 29th Mar 2011
Seems to me that the service offers just below what most people want and or need. Personally I have 30gb of music. To be successful, someone will need to offer a plan that meets everyone needs easily without having to worry about how much data I am using or which package is best for me. Apple has always done a good job of this and it has worked so far. This service is sure to fail with all the current constraints. I give it a year until it goes the way of flooz.com. Another possibility is that a competitor arises and forces Amazon to offer a service that really works for people.
0 Votes
+ -
GOOD IDEA
anto31 29th Mar 2011
It seems a good idea,a shame it is only for the US.
0 Votes
+ -
What about synch-ing? without that, it's not much
smartin99 29th Mar 2011
Sugarsync (if they get usb/NAS drives) and similar services that actively synch pc-mac-droid-ipod devices are way beyond simple storage. These prices are not that great. Unless Amazon offers easy effective synching, it won't be competitive.
0 Votes
+ -
Pogoplug Beta - try it
Colorado_AL 29th Mar 2011
This is fine and all, but I don't want to upload my files to some server somewhere and then access them from there. I want the files I already have on my hard drive to be accessible anywhere to me. That's why I jumped at the Pogoplug beta.
http://beta.pogoplug.com/betainvite/
Turn your entire HD into a Pogoplug. No purchase necessary if you sign up while it is in beta.
I can stream my music, view photos, edit documents, on any device I choose. I still use dropbox for files that I wish to have backed up to the cloud, but that syncs by itself.
You should try it. It beats Amazon, who is just mining your data to sell you stuff.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Finally!
pfrixion@... 29th Mar 2011
Winamp uses ORB technology to stream music off your own home PC to anywhere for free. Why would you pay to put it in the cloud?
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
Maranatha Solutions 29th Mar 2011
In ability to upload folders is a big inconvenience!
0 Votes
+ -
Cloud connection
malebrun@... 29th Mar 2011
Look at all the opinions arguing that they can carry their own docs et al internally, on SD, or another device. Does anyone not see the point in what Amazon is doing? This has to do with device portability and the next step in the transformation of the computing world from device orientation to cloud. Mad at Apple and their lack of SD? Who needs it! Worry that you didn't backup your data and your device just went kaput? Doesn't matter. Our digital devices will become more and more units that do presentation, not storage or computation. In the post-PC world, you'll be carrying what we used to call a "dumb terminal." Advantage - cost, ubiquity, collaboration, safety, lower capex. Disadvantage - you have to be able to hook to the Internet to "get to your stuff." In the old world of telecom, "universal service" meant that everyone had to have dialtone. Now, everyone has to have access. It's already here.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
terry flores 29th Mar 2011
@malebrun@...

Cost advantage? Seriously? My 32GB microSD card is mine forever, costs less than some cloud-based system, not to mention the traffic costs, and it is fast. Ubiquity? It goes wherever I go, tucked into my phone.

And you forgot to mention the added benefit of having Amazon analyzing all of my files and sending me subscription offers for "Out" Magazine because I have a copy of YMCA in my music files.
0 Votes
+ -
Media rights ?
sjones@... 29th Mar 2011
I suggest getting clarification on media rights. Currently, if I purchase a movie from Amazon and the copyright holder removes it for purchase / rental I am blocked from downloading a movie I already purchased (not rental.)
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Amazon launches Cloud Drive: An easy to use tablet play that takes AWS consumer
snoop0x7b 29th Mar 2011
Add on linux support... You can upload things through Linux with the web interface.
0 Votes
+ -
too bad it's not 5GB of unique space
scottplante 29th Mar 2011
I'm guessing they could store 5GB of music for 100000 people and not use more than 500GB of space. Most people will be storing a lot of the same songs, and if they use a secure hash on the file and store the same song once and just reference it from each person's area it won't cost them much storage space.

It'd be better if you got 1GB, but if you "upload" a song that they're already storing somewhere, it only counted a few dozen bytes toward your quota happy

Join the conversation!

Formatting +
BB Codes - Note: HTML is not supported in forums
  • [b] Bold [/b]
  • [i] Italic [/i]
  • [u] Underline [/u]
  • [s] Strikethrough [/s]
  • [q] "Quote" [/q]
  • [ol][*] 1. Ordered List [/ol]
  • [ul][*] · Unordered List [/ul]
  • [pre] Preformat [/pre]
  • [quote] "Blockquote" [/quote]
ie8 fix

The best of ZDNet, delivered

ZDNet Newsletters

Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox

Facebook Activity

Blog Roll

Blog Archive

White Papers, Webcasts, & Resources
ie8 fix