Is there room in the cloud-based media storage space for a new contender?
With an offer of unlimited storage at a price point lower than that of Amazon, Apple, and Google, QVIVO is making a serious challenge.
QVIVO is a startup out of Hong Kong that’s aiming to capitalize on increasing consumer use of the cloud to store personal media. The company recently secured $1 million in funding from investors including SingTel Innov8, the SingTel Group’s corporate venture capital fund with plans to use the capital to expand its infrastructure capacity.
At its core, the QVIVO cloud is of course, the same as all Software as a Service: upload on one device, it’s available on all. Where the service stands out is price and user interface.
Storing media in the QVIVO cloud is affordable for those with large media collections. For an unlimited amount of storage (the company is running a challenge to users to upload a terabyte for a free six month account) the cost for a premium plan is $4.99/month. That is less than the premium iCloud level with more storage than Apple offers, given that iCloud tops out at 55GB. Amazon offers 500 GB/$250/year. Google’s model is tiered, offering users a monthly price based on GB used per month up to a certain level.
Built in HTML5, QVIVO has a stunning, award-winning interface (it won an Awwward for Design in September 2012). Users drag and drop files to sync to the QVIVO cloud in order to build libraries. Integration with Facebook allows users to drag right from Facebook into the QVIVO application – those on the family plan can link all of their Facebook accounts to the QVIVO app to contribute.
Apps are free to download – users can play and stream media around the home, essentially setting up a home network between devices running the app for PC and Mac. QVIVO has apps for iPhone, iPad and Android, with support for Windows 8 and an app for the Windows phone on the way.
