The old SkyDrive offered automatic camera uploads from your iOS and Windows phone but now OneDrive is opening up this feature to android users. Anyone who turns on this feature will get an extra 3GB of storage, including existing users. Additionally, anyone who signs up for OneDrive receives 7GB free, and the more friends you invite the more storage you can get. However, they did put a limit on this bonus for a maximum of 5GB.
Microsoft has made some other changes to specific features such as their Office 365 app, a web based collaboration software. The change allows for instant collaboration by letting users see characters others are typing. OneDrive has also decreased uploading time for videos by using something called MPEG-DASH, which allows for high quality streaming. Also, Microsoft is offering monthly payment options for this service which used to be sold yearly. Lastly, to promote OneDrive the first 100,000 customers will be given 100GB of storage for free. How long will Microsoft stay with OneDrive? I guess we will have to wait and see.
Read the article at Mashable.com
Image retrieved from techspot
It is interesting how all of these companies compete with Apple. Apple seems to be the company that receives the most attention first, but then companies such as Microsoft come out with something super similar and add extra perks. I also don't understand why they need to have almost the exact same logo as Apple for their OneDrive...its two clouds opposed to one. I guess they innovated a bit, but it is just still so similar to the iCloud other than their promotions and allowance of other devices. If I were to create something similar to a company like Apple I would be sure to blow them out of the water with my new product.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree… I don't understand why there isn't just one cloud. Why should it matter where information is being saved as long as when it comes down from the cloud it goes to a respective service? I think there should just be a generic cloud that a third party hosts, so giants like Microsoft and Apple can focus on the actual technology they produce, not nebulous things like storage space for files.
DeleteAs someone who's used both SkyDrive (back when it was SkyDrive) and other storage services, I just wonder how long this is really going to be able to stick around. With services like Google Drive and others providing essentially the same service (for free, no less), things like OneDrive seem almost redundant. I agree with Jess that Apple seems to get the attention first with the new products, but then someone comes out with a better version. What really seems like a major factor in how long Microsoft will stick with OneDrive will be how soon another major company one-ups the service with something new.
ReplyDeleteI think they are just trying to stay competitive in the market. Are thousands of people going to sign up for Microsoft email accounts (which is a Hotmail address) just to use OneDrive? Probably not, but Microsoft wants to make sure their existing users stay on their site, so they create similar products to keep those people around. Could OneDrive become superior to Google Drive or the Apple Cloud? Only time will tell, but it's hard to beat the top dogs.
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