Today we launched the world’s first backup based cloud computing service linked to the iPhone! It hit a few hours ago and already there are posts on Venturebeat, MacWorld, and Rudy De Waele’s MTrends.
What’s all the fuss about? Well first let’s understand the different kinds of cloud computing services. There are three of them that are out there today.
1) Storage based
2) Sync based
3) Backup based
Storage based - these services provide space up in the cloud so that you can store things and access them when you are mobile. You probably have several services that you subscribe to that offers storage space but you, like many others, don’t use it much. It’s too much trouble to manually put up all the files you may need!
Sync based – here we have an program on the computer that lets you define files and folders that you would like to have available in the cloud. You may also have the ability to have a folder in the cloud that is automatically pushed back to your computer. This is a step in the right direction, but once again you have to define all the things you think you may need before hand. Not only that, you probably have too much stuff on your PC or Mac to sync it to a mobile phone or a netbook.
Backup based - Backup is nothing new. It moves all your important stuff into an archive for safekeeping. In case anything goes wrong, you can get it back. But what if you could also access and use all your backed up information without having to copy it back first? What if there was continuous backup with version control and even the ability to integrate multiple computers (Mac and PC) into a single environment?
As you may have guessed, Soonr has created the first backup based cloud computing solution. It combines all of the goodness of storage and sync, but also adds the protection and reliability of continuous backup with version control. Not only does this make your cloud much more powerful (since all the things you need are already there without you having to think about it), but it also allows you to work the way you always have on your PC or Mac while providing the option of also working from the cloud. It’s the best of all worlds.
Not only that, but with the iPhone version we’ve put a while new twist into the game. I could go on and on telling you about how cool it is, but I think it’s easier just to show it to you. Take a look at this short video.
YouTube: Soonr for the iPhone
Check it out today! It’s free and you won’t believe what you can do on your phone. Oh yeah, although we have a native iPhone version that rocks, Soonr also works on any phone with a web browser and internet connection. We are very excited to finally show this to the world. We want to hear your response! Please post a comment if you have a question!
While the iPhone certainly provides many features that make for an appealing mobile experience, when will Soonr support more business-focused smartphones such as BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile devices? iContact and iDialer (supware.net) are nice examples of how iPhone-like functionality can be provided on Windows Mobile.
John, those phones are on our list to explore. When someone logs into Soonr our servers will optimize for the phone type. We have seen over 800 phone types on our service. None of the users of Soonr who also logged in with their phone (Soonr also has a browser based version that is used from laptops and PCs) had the mobile login numbers of the iPhone.
We have seen that iPhone users are now a full 25% of our service. That’s more than any three other phone models combined. Our suspicion that iPhone users are just much more mobile web savvy has been supported by operators who report that iPhone users use the web 300% more than any other users.
Symbian, WinMo, and Blackberry have all tried to create an application marketplace for their respective platforms, but we just haven’t seen the amazing momentum and success as the Apple app store. It’s a complex system to put together and Apple got it right, both for the users as well as the developers. I also have to mention that the UI and development environment of the iPhone is also very well done.
With all that said, we do have partners who have asked us to look into the other platforms. Can’t promise anything, but we are keeping our eyes and ears open. Also note that you can log into Soonr with any phone with a browser. It has been used extensively with both BB and WinMo.