Microsoft SkyDrive app for Android released
SkyDrive has made a big leap forward in the last year functionality-wise which can only be partially explained with the October launch of Microsoft's upcoming operating system Windows 8.
Google's launch of Google Drive, and to a lesser extent Amazon's launch of its cloud hosting service, and the fact that competitors like Apple or Dropbox were already in the market, have certainly played a role as well.
Not all changes were positive in that year. Especially the storage reduction for new SkyDrive customers from 25 Gigabyte to 7 Gigabyte has been criticized, even though that is still one of the best offers in regards to free storage with syncing applications.
The last SkyDrive update dates back only two weeks and Microsoft back then promised that an Android app for SkyDrive would be released soon on Google Play.
Microsoft on SkyDrive's earlier this year big relaunch made available apps for Apple's iOS and Microsoft's own Windows Phone mobile operating system, but not Android.
Today, the official SkyDrive app for Android has been released by Microsoft. The new app is listed officially on Google Play were Android users can install it on their devices directly, provided that their device's Android version is at least 2.3.
The SkyDrive app for Android has the same look and feel as the app for Apple's iOS operating system. Even the feature set seems to be identical:
- Access all files hosted on SkyDrive, including files that have been shared with you
- Access a list of recently used documents and files
- File management features
- Making available files in other Android apps
- File sharing by email or by using other (installed apps)
- Option to upload multiple photos or videos from the phone directly
The application may be useful for SkyDrive users who either need mobile access to their hosted documents and files, or users who like to push their photos and videos that they have shot with their phone to an online service.
What you do not get is the automatic synchronization of data between SkyDrive and the phone, making it a storage browser.
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This article typifies why I avoid anything “Microsoft” aside from Windows. My Android phone is now 12 months old and ineligible for this app.
Ridiculous!
I’m doing just fine with Dropbox, Box and Yandex. Those companies realize we can’t afford to purchase new electronics every 3 months!
But is not that more of a issue that you should have with Google or your phone’s manufacturer and its updating policy when it comes to Android phones?
It has been shown that MS is scanning the contents of files stored on SkyDrive and they will nuke your whole account if they find something they believe violates the TOS. The fact that they are scanning my files at all is a deal breaker for me. I wouldn’t store anything on there that wasn’t inside an encrypted container, which might also violate the TOS. Not sure. Basically I don’t want to put my account at risk based on some unknown (arbitrary?) rules. I’ll store elsewhere.