News
Amazon launches Cloud Drive online music service
By Charles Starrett
Senior Editor, iLounge
Published: Tuesday, March 29, 2011
News Category: Digital Media
Amazon today launched its new Cloud Drive online storage service, alongside a new Cloud Player that allows users to play back music stored using the service. The Cloud Player supports both MP3 and AAC files, and can be accessed from any PC or Mac, as well as from Amazon’s MP3 app for Android; purchases made on Amazon’s MP3 store can be automatically added to the service and do not count against the user’s storage limit. Amazon is offering 5GB of storage for free, with higher storage capacities priced at $1 per GB per year. Notably, customers who purchase an album from the Amazon MP3 store receive 20GB of free storage for one year. The service makes Amazon the first among itself, Google, and Apple with a cloud-based music service; Apple is reportedly working on a such a service for introduction later this year.
Related Stories
- New HTC handsets face import delay due to Apple
- Facebook to acquire Instagram for $1 billion
- Fox, Universal movies missing from iTunes in the Cloud
- Korean researchers develop new ebook page-turning system
- iBooks Author EULA draws criticism
- Apple posts streaming video of education event
Comments
If you have a comment, news tip, advertising inquiry, or coverage request, a question about iPods/iPhones/iPad or accessories, or if you sell or market iPod/iPhone/iPad products or services, read iLounge's Comments + Questions policies before posting, and fully identify yourself if you do. We will delete comments containing advertising, astroturfing, trolling, personal attacks, offensive language, or other objectionable content, then ban and/or publicly identify violators.
Recent News
- Pulp adds iCloud sync, new Home Page
- WordPress for iOS adds Push Notifications
- Sony launches Music Unlimited for iOS
- Apple device poll ends, computing poll begins
- Fruit Ninja adds new features and power-ups
- Apple to sell Nest Learning Thermostat
- Third-gen iPad to launch in Guam, Philippines May 29
- Apple tweaks App Store with Editors’ Choice, Free picks
- Panic releases Diet Coda
- Booq rolls out new Folio for iPad
Recent Reviews
- Pelican i1075 Hardback Case for iPad
- Skinit Skins for iPad (3rd-Generation)
- Spigen SGP Steinheil Ultra Optics Screen Protector for iPad (3rd-Gen)
- ZeroChroma VarioProtect for iPhone 4/4S
- BodyGuardz UltraTough Clear Skins for iPad (3rd-Gen)
- Wrapsol Original + Ultra Hybrid Protective Film for iPad 2/iPad (3rd-Gen)
- iBattz Mojo Removable Power Card Wallet
- dreamGEAR i.Sound Power View Pro S 2.1A Dual Charging Dock
- dreamGEAR i.Sound Universal Power View
- Sena Cases Florence Portfolio for iPad (3rd-Gen)
Recent Articles
- Removing music from iTunes after copying to iPod
- iOS Gems: Farm 123, Facebook Camera, Scribblenauts, Shoot the Zombirds + Virtua Tennis Challenge
- iTunes TV show size totals don’t match actual disk storage
- Consolidating Multiple iTunes Libraries
- Converting Purchased Videos to 1080p HD
- Find My Friends always reports home location
- Creating an iTunes Match library from an external hard drive
- Benefits of keeping apps in iTunes when using iCloud
- Recovering iTunes from an External Hard Drive
- Normalizing volume levels for Voice Memos
1
I love when Apple’s competitors pile on the pressure! Us consumers always reap the rewards.
Posted by Clint on March 29, 2011 at 11:33 AM (PDT)
2
Amazon’s ToS doesn’t give you any privacy. You might want to check out the article on ZDNet. If you care, you might want to use DropBox or something else to store your files.
Posted by Geckoid on March 29, 2011 at 10:18 PM (PDT)
3
“If you care, you might want to use DropBox or something else to store your files.”
DropBox, which runs on Amazon’s servers…
Yes, I’m sure that’s going to be a lot more private if someone wants to see your list of files.
If you store your files on someone else’s hardware, or even if you transfer your data through someone else’s hardware, unless you have encrypted it prior to transmission, it is a safe assumption that anyone with any slightly defensible legal interest in those files can gain access to your data and logs.
If you’re naive enough to believe in privacy AND cloud storage, well, I guess you still believe in Santa and the Easter Bunny. Our laws protect corporations first and foremost, the individual is merely a consumer, and if you want to play your music from anywhere, anytime you better be prepared that your list of files will be, at the least, compiled into an aggregate list and used for marketing studies.
The bottom line is that you simply do not upload anything to someone else’s hardware you expect to remain private. That goes for DropBox, Amazon, Google, or any other service there is.
Posted by Code Monkey in Midstate New York on March 30, 2011 at 1:57 PM (PDT)