Amazon has launched a new service that enables users to remotely store and access their music from any Android handset or tablet, as well as from PCs and Macs. The new service is made up of 5GB of free online storage for users’ uploaded music, which is branded Amazon Cloud Drive, and the ability to play cloud-based music in a smartphone app or web browser, which is the Amazon Cloud Player. 

However the online retailer is not offering a standalone Android app for users who want to download the new player to their smartphone or tablet. Instead they must download the latest version of the company’s Amazon MP3 App which bundles the retailer’s music store as well as the cloud player. Any purchase from the store goes direct to the user’s cloud-based music collection. Significantly, there is no app for Apple’s iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

Beyond the basic 5GB of free storage available with Amazon Cloud Service, users can receive a further 20GB if they buy an album from the Amazon MP3 store. Otherwise 20 GB of additional storage costs US$20 a year, followed by bigger bundles starting at 50 GB/US$50 and ramping up to 1,000 GB/US$1,000.

Amazon hopes users who are reluctant to download music to their smartphones or PCs because they find it tiresome to shift their content between devices will be attracted to the new service. Its launch has enabled Amazon to steal a march on rivals Apple and Google. It is thought that the former might offer cloud storage at some point if it revamps its MobileMe back-up service. Meanwhile Google is currently testing a similar-sounding music service to Amazon’s. One potential concern for the new service is Amazon’s apparent attitude that it does not need any licensing agreements with record labels or publishers to store music remotely. The music industry has mounted legal challenges against other companies for offering services with similarities to Amazon’s.