Verizon has learned that it can’t compete in some verticals. Years ago it tried to be a full-service carrier, providing games, music, and even apps for its subscribers. They tried to push these services to the point where they pre-loaded them onto every new handset. That all ended recently. Not only do they not pre-load those services onto new smartphones, but they’ve removed them from existing smartphones. With Google and Apple, among other specialty companies, handling apps, games, and music well enough, there’s not much room for a carrier like Verizon.
There is perhaps one vertical that could make sense for a carrier: cloud backup. While there are services like Dropbox and Google Drive that can handle cloud storage needs, and while those services do have smartphone and tablet apps, they’re not as directly connected to these devices as a carrier. Even Google Drive doesn’t fully support Android backups, at least natively and easily for the non-hardcore user. Apparently Verizon has realized this.
Today they announced a cloud storage app of their own, titled simply Verizon Cloud. It combines a basic type of backup with a service more akin to Dropbox, making a great, and free, solution for Verizon customers. Every Verizon smartphone account gets 500MB of storage for free. This allows you to backup contacts, call logs, text messages, call logs, and all basic information.
This can be greatly useful when switching phones. When I switched from an iPhone to an Android last fall, I was told that the in-store contact moving process could take hours. No way I was waiting that long. That meant manually moving over my contacts — at least those not already stored in my Google Contacts list. Using Verizon Cloud would make that process just a little easier to manage, without having to wait a few hours for a swap.
Verizon takes cloud storage a step further by offering storage service for a monthly fee. With it you can upload photos, video, music, and other files, just as you would to other cloud backup services. While the free tier isn’t competitive — 500MB hardly gets you anything — the paid tiers are actually competitive with Dropbox:
- $2.99 for 25GB
- $5.99 for 75GB
- $9.99 for 125GB
In addition to backing up your smartphone, Verizon Cloud makes your files available across various platforms, such as your tablet and laptop. You can access your files there and even stream music and video from them.
You can get started by downloading Verizon Cloud from Google Play (and you’ll see that it used to be VCast Media Manager). It is also available as a desktop and web app (in the link below). An iOS app is apparently coming soon.
Via Verizon Cloud via Phone Scoop.
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