Microsoft Attempting to Compete with iCloud

Microsoft will be integrating its SkyDrive with Windows 8 to allow users to integrate multiple devices. The news came in response to Apple’s (News - Alert) announcement that its new OS X, Mountain Lion, would be integrated with iCloud.

“We think what people want in personal cloud storage is a single drive that’s available across all of their devices, tailored to the experiences they’re using, providing instant, secure, and private access to their files, and sharing files and folders with people they choose,” said Microsoft representatives via the MSDN blog. “To bring this to billions of people, our approach is to seamlessly connect the files (and behaviors) that people have today on the PC with the app and device experiences that they will use in the future.”

Within Windows 8, SkyDrive will be a Metro-style app. An early version of the app will be available at Consumer Preview. “We focused on two things,” wrote bloggers.  “[First], designing a fast, fluid, touch-first version of SkyDrive that makes it quick, easy, and even fun to browse and access your files, and [second],making your SkyDrive available for use from any Metro style app via the file picker (open/save) and the new Share charm in Windows 8.”

Currently, iCloud wirelessly syncs files between the iPod, iPhone (News - Alert) 4S, MacBook Air and iPad 2. The cloud server from Apple also backs up the devices whenever they are plugged into Wi-Fi. Similarly, SkyDrive stores files on Windows Live servers, allowing people to share photos and other files with friends who have another Internet-connected device. With SkyDrive integrated in to Windows 8, people will be able to wirelessly sync both their PC and their Windows Phone.

The Windows Phone (News - Alert) has yet to gain popularity among most users. Nokia saw a huge dip in its Q4 2011 profits because it had shifted to using Microsoft software for its smartphones. Both Apple and Android have continued to dominate the market. Nokia has teamed up with T-Mobile (News - Alert) in an attempt to penetrate the U.S. market, but it has not yet developed a strategy for huge markets like China and Japan. The Windows phone is also hurt by its limited number of available apps.

Nokia (News - Alert) revealed its Lumia 900 phone at CES in Las Vegas. With the introduction of Lumia 900, many analysts predict that, despite its slow start, Windows Phones may outpace the iPhone by 2015. With SkyDrive integrating multiple devices that run on Windows, the future may be brighter for Windows Phone than it looks right now.