Amazon is getting ready to debut a “digital locker service” for online media content, according to a report from CNET. In fact, the new feature could be announced this week and would offer customers cloud storage for their film and music libraries — regardless of where the content was purchased.
Apple and Google have long been rumored to be creating cloud-based storage for media content, and CNET’s sources claim that Amazon wants to get a leg up on its competition. Google has been notably proactive with its online music service, which also offers users storage on its servers. But Amazon isn’t too far behind: The online retail site has been meeting with “major record companies and Hollywood film studios” about the new project, and of course it has some experience in this field. It’s Kindle and Instant Video features both defer to the cloud for storage.
But what about Apple? We heard that iTunes Cloud would be introduced in 2010, which obviously didn’t happen. And there hasn’t been too much talk about the online service since. Apparently, this could be the Cupertino giant’s own fault: Cult of Mac claims that the company “is said to have gotten an earful from music heads that don’t agree on streaming fees,” which sounds pretty familiar to the battle Apple fought regarding its iTunes subscription service. But apparently, Apple is still planning a digital locker for MobileMe, and there’s also been some musings lately that Apple has some big plans for video streaming.
Either way, if Amazon does indeed introduce its digital locker service this week, it will beat two major competitors to the punch. Amazon is something like the dark horse in the unending innovation coming from Google and Apple — the company is surprisingly keeping on trend and introducing vital technologies for users. Its Android Appstore opened last week, and there are rumors it’s considering its own Android tablet in the future. The company is definitely starting to step outside its former boundaries of retail sales and give the big names some new competition.
