So, I took a look at Amazon’s new cloud drive service today. What is cloud drive? It’s Amazon’s answer to the cloud-based thumb-drive concept such as the very good Dropbox service. On first glance, it has some advantages to Dropbox: more initial storage and if you already have an Amazon ID you can simply sign in with that.
I haven’t tested it, but I’m assuming anyone can create a new ID easily. My ID is for the US store since that’s my billing address, but I would be interested to know if people form other countries have difficulties signing up. Amazon has said that people in certain countries won’t be able to upgrade their cloud drive with extra space at this time. You can see the upgrade plans and pricing here.
First impression: where’s the desktop client? As far as I can tell at this time, you can only add files to your drive either by uploading them via the web-based interface, or by purchasing music via Amazon’s MP3 store. The latter is pretty cool, since, if you’re going to purchase MP3s from Amazon anyway, they might as well be stored in your free online storage.
You can then play your MP3s via the web-based Cloud Player or on your Android device with the Android Cloud Player. However, when I tried to visit the Web-based Cloud Player, since I am currently located in Budapest, Hungary, I got this message:
For U.S. Customers Only
It appears that you are attempting to use Amazon Cloud Player from outside the U.S. This service is intended for U.S. customers only.
I can feel the “clouds” darkening over my head even as I write this blog post.
The bottom-line deal breaker: without a desktop client (and it’s got to be as good as Dropbox’s), iPhone app, and no support for non-US locations, Amazon’s cloud drive is a nonstarter for me.
This is the blog where Rodney Blevins comes to pontificate on various subjects ranging from the spiritual to the scientific and sometimes downright whimsical. This is also where you can find his many podcasts.
