Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has rolled out a cloud-based data storage service that will give users 5GB of storage for music for free, which can grow to 20GB if a user purchases an album from it's MP3 store, making the files available across web browsers and Android devices.
Amazon said Cloud Player for the Web will allow users to play music stored in the cloud and on their devices, and said users can buy additional allotments of storage at the rate of $20 per 20GB per year. Both Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) have plans to roll out digital lockers in the future, so the Amazon move can be seen as a bit of a coup.
As expected, video--as well as photos and document--also can be stored in the digital locker, but they'll only be available on browsers.
What remains to be seen is what rights Amazon has negotiated with content owners and producers, something that could prove to be a stumbling block to the service's adoption for use with premium video purchased by consumers. Amazon customers already have access to digital movies and television purchased they make. The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon executives have held discussions with several media companies regarding more extensive licensing negotiation to come now that the basic service has launched.
For more:
- see this article in Fortune
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