Amazon Cloud Drive, cloudn't it ?

Most retailers dream of emptying their shelves. Amazon dreams of seeing his customers leave their stuff in its warehouses. That's called living in a cloud. And these days, preempting cloud space is about keeping your feet on the ground.

Here's the claim:

- 5 GB of free online storage
- Unlimited access from any computer
- Never worry about losing your files again

Here's the catch:
- 5 GB doesn't mean anything these days (ie ADrive has been offering 50 GB for years), but you're invited to buy additional storage and conveniently enough, the stuff you purchase on Amazon store is not included in the 5 GB
- unlimited access from any computer, but forget about your iPhone (only Android does it for mobile devices - and needless to say, Cloud Player doesn't read iTunes)
- never think about changing providers : try moving once you've uploaded the whole shebang

But that's OK. Once again, Amazon shot first among the big non operator fishes. Amazon acted as a leader. As the Kindle proves, it's not a silver bullet, but this shot in the cloud is certainly not a lost bullet.

mot-bile 2011

Sprint fires Google Voice at AT&T - T-Mobile

It doesn't take an app anymore to use Google Voice on Sprint*.

It doesn't take an ape anymore to spot the 800 pound gorilla in the US wireless jungle : AT&T is having T-mobile for lunch, and the great silverback issues $ 39 bn in greenbacks and shares to pay the bill.

Putting both events at the same level seems unfair, but this is all about asymetric warfare. Sprint Nextel will probably tell this kind of story to the FCC.

Meanwhile, the VoIP app battle keeps raging between Google Voice, Tango, Viber, Skype, Fring, and scores of new players who don't have to plant antennas across the States.

Meanwhile, IRL, people try to survive a much more vital battle in Japan's most battered prefectures, where fixed broadband often proves to be the last link with the rest of mankind.

mot-bile 2011

* as the operator introduces Nexus S 4G, the netco stresses the software level ("Sprint integrates Google Voice") :

"Over time, we've worked to bring an integrated Google Voice experience to your mobile device by building mobile apps, introducing Google Voice Lite, and most recently Number Porting. But we felt that ultimately, the most simple solution would be to partner with carriers to seamlessly integrate Google Voice with your mobile phone.
Today, we’d like to share that we’ve teamed up with Sprint to do just that.
First, Sprint customers will be able to use their existing Sprint mobile number as their Google Voice number and have it ring multiple other phones simultaneously. So now, calls to your Sprint mobile number can easily be answered from your office or your home phone, or even your computer through Gmail. Calls from Gmail and text messages sent from google.com/voice will also display your Sprint number. This basically gives Sprint customers all the benefits of Google Voice without the need to change or port their number.
Alternatively, Google Voice users can choose to replace their Sprint number with their Google Voice number when placing calls or sending text messages from their Sprint handset. This feature works on all Sprint phones and gives Sprint users all the benefits of Google Voice without the need for an app.
In both cases, Google Voice replaces Sprint voicemail, giving Sprint customers transcribed voicemail messages available online and sent via email and/or text message. International calls made from Google Voice users’ Sprint phones will be connected by Google Voice at our very low rates, and Sprint customers will also have access to the rest of Google Voice’s features, like creating personalized voicemail greetings based on who’s calling, call recording, blocking unwanted callers and more."