Yesterday Amazon launched its Cloud Player and I’ve been testing it out all day today. By the time I was done my Android battery was dead and I had to recharge it long enough to do this video. Throughout the course of the day I tested out purchasing as well as streaming from different locations under different circumstances during different times of the day. Testing happened between 8:30am CST and 5:00pm CST in areas located in the center of the city of Chicago and suburban areas about 15 miles out. Most tests were run on Verizon 3G but WiFi was tested at home. Audio quality was tested out by plugging my Droid into my car stereo’s auxiliary input.
Overall I am quite impressed with the service. With the exception of a few quirks I definitely think everyone should give this a try since you get 5GB free with your Amazon account. I state a few important things in the video regarding how and when this should be used, as it does not serve as a replacement to putting music on your device. It should also be noted that you can freely download music from your Cloud to your Mac or PC via the Cloud Player desktop app from Amazon, so you are not restricted with your music when it comes to distribution between devices. If you like it, you can purchase a full MP3 album for under $10 and be granted an upgrade to 20GB of storage for an entire year (normally goes for $20).
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Simple, easy to use interface | Seeking ahead in a song requires you to go forward one track and then back |
| Option to save to Cloud or device and download/upload between the two from the Desktop app | Limited by your data connection speed and stability |
| High quality streaming and pre-loads next track on list | Eats through your data plan like termites in wood |
Source: Amazon Cloud Player
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ah and thus where still having some sort of unlimited data plans is a plus, any ideas if this works with AT&T? I know the Amazon App market place currently doesn’t work for AT&T, but their working on getting that fixed.
The Amazon MP3 player is available on the Android Marketplace at https://market.android.com/details?id=com.amazon.mp3 so you don’t need to acquire it via the Amazon App Store. I have confirmed that the Cloud Player does work with AT&T with a friend.
In fact, you can buy an “MP3 Album” for under a buck and get the upgrade. You just have to make sure the item is listed “MP3 Album.” I spent a buck on a Rachmaninoff piece and got the upgrade. Someone I know downloaded a lame ass Glee song/MP3 Album for .67 and got the upgrade.
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