MediaFire says its cloud storage service now has 30 million users, but it seems that only a minority of those are using its Android or iOS interfaces -- so far, the former has seen less than 500,000 downloads. One extra feature that might boost the utility of these is the forthcoming addition of media streaming, to help MediaFire compete with likes of Amazon Cloud Player -- and with the added draw of 50GB free lifetime storage (or a time-limited offer of $24.99 annually for 100GB). There's no sign of the app update on either platform just yet, but it'll get there when it gets there.

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio/Video, Tablets, Storage, Internet, Software, Mobile

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Source: Google Play, iTunes

While single-chip SSDs are clearly known quantities, they usually run at a much more leisurely pace than their larger counterparts. Innodisk doesn't think size and speed have to be contradictory -- it just unveiled an embedded version of its nanoSSD that performs almost as well as its much bigger counterparts. The µSSD-based SATA chip has a tiny footprint (0.63 x 0.79 inches) and draws just 1W of peak power, but can still read at up to 480MB/s and write at 175MB/s. As such, it's one of the few SSDs that can theoretically stuff desktop-class storage into a smartphone or tablet. Whether or not it will is another matter. Innodisk hasn't named customers for the nanoSSD so far, which leaves us guessing just where or when we'll see the drive in a finished product.

Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops, Tablets, Storage

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Source: Innodisk

While Amazon Cloud Drive has been on quite the world tour as of late, Canadians have had to watch as seemingly everyone else gets the storage service first. Thankfully, Canucks can now do more than just twiddle their thumbs now that Cloud Drive has gone live in their country. Pricing is virtually on par with what Americans know, with a 5GB free tier and multiple paid tiers that start at $10 per year for 20GB. All the Cloud Drive-focused desktop and mobile apps are now available as well. Cloud Player isn't an option when Amazon MP3 is still missing, but the expansion should otherwise give Canadians at least a small taste of what they've been missing in Amazon's online world.

Filed under: Storage, Internet, Amazon

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Via: MobileSyrup

Source: Amazon

Avid iOS shutterbugs already have Dropbox, Flickr and any number of other internet-based safeguards for their photos, but it won't hurt to have another, will it? Amazon certainly doesn't mind, as its new iOS version of Cloud Drive Photos is built expressly for the sake of uploading shots and viewing them online. Like the Android version, there's no editing or other special tricks -- social network sharing is about the only notable extra. Still, it might be worth grabbing the app if your Cloud Drive space isn't living up to its potential.

Filed under: Cellphones, Storage, Internet, Amazon

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Via: PCMag

Source: App Store

We've seen Microsoft's Surface RT face similar accusations, but this time it's the turn of Samsung's Galaxy S 4 and how much space you'll actually get from that advertised 16GB of storage. The BBC's consumer rights show, Watchdog, will be focusing on the smartphone in next week's episode, and the fact that almost half of the phone's memory is already occupied by Samsung's own software and apps. According to UK retailer Clove, there's just 9.5GB of storage left for customers to fill. It's not the only Android phone with storage space less than advertised -- visit our More Coverage link to see how the Droid RAZR Maxx's 16GB of storage magically transforms into 8GB of usable space. While the smartphone maker argues that the phone does offer an expansion option in the form of a microSD card slot (up to 64GB, no less), some apps still seem to prefer to reside on built-in storage over anything removable -- Amazon's Cloud Player comes to mind.

Host Anne Robinson hints at the end of this week's episode: "It [Samsung] claims that its brand new Galaxy phone has an extra-large memory, but what did it forget to mention?" Although we might have spoiled that question for you already, check the teaser after the break. Brits can tune in for the show at 8PM GMT next Wednesday.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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Via: SlashGear

Source: Videolan (YouTube), Gavin's Gadgets

It's time to re-imagine your documents, apparently. Cloud storage service Box just acquired document embedding startup Crocodoc, which specializes in taking Word, PowerPoint and PDF documents and rendering them as HTML5 content inside web browsers and mobile apps. Crocodoc's technology will allow Box to seamlessly integrate document conversion and viewing into its products. The companies also plan on rolling out more features over the next year, including secure viewing, mobile collaboration, form filling and real-time presentation -- sounds like a win-win for all.

Filed under: Internet, Software

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Source: TechCrunch

Times are a-changin' for Salt Lake City-based Fusion-io, as the company's CEO David Flynn has resigned alongside co-founder and CMO Rick White. It seems that both are stepping away in order to "pursue entrepreneurial investing activities," leaving the act of running one of the world's leading flash storage makers for Mr. Shane Robison. Effective immediately, Robison will be knighted chairman, chief executive officer and president, offering up over 30 years of experience in prior roles for AT&T, Cadence Design Systems, HP and Apple.

The outfit's stock price hasn't fared so well in the shuffle, and it seems that it's once again battling murmurs that a sale could be on the horizon. Combating that sentiment, Robison was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that a sale "is not my focus." Rather, he's hoping to "grow the company and build on what [it] has." Here's hoping it all pans out -- the world most certainly doesn't need one less company fighting for the death of the conventional hard drive.

Filed under: Storage

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Source: Fusion-io

Seagate has come a long way in its attitude toward solid-state drives: it went from fighting the future to embracing SSDs with open arms, albeit only in enterprise at first. Now, it's launching its first-ever flash drive for end users, the 600 SSD. The storage will seem familiar to those who've gone shopping for regular SSDs, offering a 480GB max capacity, a laptop-friendly width and a 6Gbps SATA interface. Also, it may be just the perfect fit for those with extra-slim PCs: one 600 SSD variant will have the same 5mm height as Western Digital's Blue UltraSlim. Seagate hasn't disclosed its pricing, but the 600 SSD as well as the server-oriented 600 Pro SSD, 1200 SSD and X8 Accelerator should be available now.

Filed under: Storage

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Source: Seagate

While there's an abundance of cloud storage services, few of them have dedicated conferences to help developers exploit that online space. Dropbox could well be a vanguard on that front, then -- it just announced its inaugural developer conference, DBX. The initial event takes place on July 9th at San Francisco's very familiar-sounding Fort Mason Center. Along with providing help straight from the source for the Sync API and other coding tools, DBX will serve as the launch platform for "new products." There aren't any clues as to what that entails, but we suspect that's enough of a tease to have some Dropbox diehards booking their flights.

Filed under: Storage, Internet, Software

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Via: Dropbox

Source: DBX

After taking a few shadowy pictures for the scientific world's paparazzi, the atom is now ready for its closeup. Today, a team of IBM scientists are bypassing the big screen to unveil what they call the "world's smallest movie." This atomic motion picture was created with the help of a two-ton IBM-made microscope that operates at a bone-chilling negative 268 degrees Celsius. This hardware was used to control a probe that pulled and arranged atoms for stop-motion shots used in the 242-frame film. A playful spin on microcomputing, the short was made by the same team of IBM eggheads who recently developed the world's smallest magnetic bit. Now that the atom's gone Hollywood, what's next, a molecular entourage?

Filed under: Storage, Science, Alt

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While we're used to connected hard drives that share their contents with phones and tablets, the reverse isn't common -- why don't many of these drives safeguard our mobile content from the start? Toshiba is as baffled as we are, so it's launching its Canvio Connect portable drive with handheld access in mind. While the USB 3.0 disk has no built-in networking of its own, a software bundle for Macs and PCs (we've confirmed that it's Pogoplug) lets travelers back up photos and videos from their Android and iOS devices, reach the drive's files through the internet and partake in 10GB of free cloud storage. The new Canvio can also serve as a traditional external drive for computers, although it's still improved in that space when the enclosure is about a third shorter than that of its predecessors. Toshiba expects the mobile-savvy Connect to arrive in mid-May at prices ranging from $99 for a 500GB model through to $190 for a 2TB version.

Filed under: Storage, Internet

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Source: Toshiba

We were intrigued with the prospects of Western Digital's 5mm Blue drive when we saw it last summer: finally, a 2.5-inch spinning disk thin enough to rival slimmer SSDs without the price premium of a hybrid like the WD Black SSHD. If you shared the same curiosity, you'll be glad to hear that the finished product is shipping as the WD Blue UltraSlim. Device builders can now stuff 500GB into spaces that would exclude 7mm disks, yet pay just $89 for the privilege -- a price low enough to let even frugal Ultrabooks shed some bulk. The 5mm disk reaches its miniscule dimensions through the use of a tiny edge connector that mates both power and a SATA interface, leaving more room for the drive machinery. We can't guarantee that you'll find a Blue UltraSlim in your next PC or set-top box when Western Digital hasn't named any of its customers, but we wouldn't be surprised if the wafer-like drive is commonplace in the near future.

Filed under: Laptops, Storage

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Source: Western Digital