Cloud

Google to stream apps you don’t have installed on your phone, right from search results

Google on Wednesday announced that its search engine has now begun to surface app content and said that it's started experimenting with a cool new app-streaming technology to let mobile users accomplish tasks as if they were in the app itself.

“This uses a new cloud-based technology that we’re currently experimenting with,” wrote the Internet giant. App streaming will kick in when a user taps on app content in search results but doesn't have the app installed on their device.

Dropbox adds Recents view to web interface, bringing frequently accessed files in one place

Managing multiple projects in your Dropbox can be a pain when you need to quickly find that presentation you've been working on recently. While Dropbox's iPhone and iPad app has had a dedicated Recents tab since May of this year, it wasn't available through the web UI at dropbox.com.

Starting today, a Recents webpage is now available on dropbox.com so you can find what you need faster. Sadly, the Recents feature isn't cross-platform as of yet because Dropbox for Android lacks it, but the company assures us it's coming to that platform, too, “over the next few months”.

Google Drive gets better with sharing notifications and more

Google has updated its Drive cloud storage client for iOS with mobile notifications when files or folders are shared, or when someone requests access to a file you own.

The change allows for a more consistent sharing experience across platforms and includes enhancements such as jumping directly to a shared file by tapping on the notification banner and providing a custom message when sharing a file or folder with others.

OneDrive for iOS gains new command gestures and cool ways to work with PDF files

Microsoft today updated OneDrive for the iPhone and iPad, its cloud-storage client app, with several new features such as a simpler way to share things with an all-new radial contextual menu and cool new ways to work with and annotate PDF files.

For starters, you can now draw smiley faces or whatever your like on PDF files, sign documents and more. And thanks to OneDrive's newly gained Outlook integration, you can share OneDrive files as email attachments through Outlook, if it's installed.

OneDrive's Document Picker extension on devices with iOS 8 or later permits you to open your cloud files in third-party apps like Keynote and Pages. Oh, and you can now see folders shared with you, alongside your own OneDrive folders, and sync them on your computer.

Amazon launches dedicated iOS app for its Cloud Drive service

Online retail giant Amazon on Monday launched a brand new application in the App Store to give iPhone and iPad owners a quick way to access their documents, spreadsheets, music, photos and videos stored in Cloud Drive, Amazon's storage locker in the cloud.

The new app, called Amazon Cloud Drive, is available at no charge in the App Store. For the uninitiated, Amazon's Cloud Drive service offers you a choice between unlimited storage for your photos in exchange for twelve bucks per year, or $60 per year for an Unlimited Everything plan.

A free 90-day trial of Cloud Drive is available here.

Google Drive receives Material Design overhaul with faster scrolling, syncing and image viewing

Google on Wednesday issued a version 4.0 update to its free of charge Google Drive for iOS application in the App Store. The first thing you'll notice is a brand new design which follows Material Design guidelines set forth by Google itself.

In addition to a cleaned-up interface, other changes in Google Drive 4.0 for iPhone and iPad include much faster syncing of your files, as well as image viewing.

Scrolling performance has been improved, too, and they've finally implemented iOS's standard swipe gesture to go back.

Google announces new ‘Photos’ cloud service with free unlimited storage

Google hosted its annual developer conference this morning where it talked about Android M, Android Pay and other initiatives. It also announced a new cloud-based storage service for your photos and videos called Google Photos, and it's available on iOS today.

At first, Google Photos sounds a lot like iCloud Photo Library and other storage services: automatic back ups, integration with compatible apps, quick editing and sharing tools, and the ability to sort by various metrics. But there a few features that set Photos apart.

Amazon offers to store all your files for $60 per year, or just photos for 99 cents per month

Amazon has just upped the ante in the cloud-storage arena by announcing Thursday a pair of disruptive cloud storage plans, with a new Unlimited Everything tier available to store as many photographs, video clips and documents as you possibly have, for a flat fee of sixty bucks per year, a massive price reduction over previous prices.

Another, lower-priced tier called Unlimited Photos will keep an unlimited number of photos backed up in the Amazon cloud, and up to five gigabytes of videos and files, in exchange for twelve bucks per year, or just 99 cents per month.

Both new plans store your files securely on Amazon's Cloud Drive services and are available now on the web.

Box updated with Touch ID support and Notification Center widget

Dropbox competitor Box updated its iOS client this morning, bringing the app to version 3.5. The update is a big one, bringing about a number of improvements and new features, including some that are specific to users with devices running iOS 8.

The Box app now features a widget in the Notification Center that allows you to quickly and easily create Box notes and view recent documents. The update also adds support for Touch ID, so you can use your fingerprint to lock and unlock the app.

Amazon gives Prime members unlimited storage with Prime Photos

It's gotten a lot easier to swallow the Amazon Prime membership fee of $99 per year now that the online retail giant is throwing in free unlimited photo storage with Prime Photos.

Unveiled Tuesday, Prime Photos taps Amazon's Cloud Drive service to allow Prime subscribers who are Apple users to upload photos from their mobile devices using Amazon's free Cloud Drive Photos iOS app and have them stored for free in the Amazon cloud, in their original resolution.

Because the service keeps your snaps saved in full resolution, they aren't compressed and no quality is lost. The Cloud Drive Photos app has a handy Auto-Save feature to automatically back up your photos.

Needless to say, Prime Photos is also accessible on Android devices, Amazon's Fire tablet and Fire Phone series and through the web via Mac and Windows computers.

Apple acquires cloud startup Union Bay Networks

Apple has acquired cloud networking startup Union Bay Networks, according to The Seattle Times. The company focused on "enabling the next generation of networking for cloud computing and software defined datacenters," and seven out of nine of its former employees are said to have been hired by the Cupertino firm.

Of course, Apple hasn't officially commented on the acquisition, but it seemingly confirmed the purchase earlier today by providing The Seattle Times its boiler plate public relations response of "Apple sometimes buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

Apple’s new iCloud storage plans now live, up to 1TB for $20 per month

Apple updated its iCloud website yesterday with additional information on its new iCloud storage plans. As of today, those storage plans are now live, allowing users to purchase additional iCloud storage of up to 1TB using the new pricing.

Of course, customers will continue to get 5GB of cloud storage for free, but Apple has dropped the pricing on the rest of its iCloud offerings ahead of the launch of iOS 8, OS X Yosemite and iCloud Drive. Keep reading for a quick rundown.