Tuesday, June 12, 2012, 10:00 pm

Amazon launches Cloud Player app on iOS App Store

By Josh Ong

A year after launching its Cloud Player music tool, Amazon has released an iOS app for it, bringing functionality that will compete with Apple's own iCloud and iTunes.

The "Amazon Cloud Player" app hit the App Store on Tuesday and has already garnered a five-star rating with more than 100 ratings. Though the free iPhone app is listed as being compatible with the iPad, there is currently no official iPad version.

“By bringing Cloud Player to iPhone and iPod touch, we now have the most widely compatible cloud playback solution available, giving our customers the ability to buy once and enjoy their music everywhere," Steve Boom, Amazon's vice president of Digital Music, said in a press release.

The application allows users to stream music from Amazon's Cloud Drive, download tracks for offline use and create and edit playlists. Amazon recommends that users load Amazon Cloud Player on a Mac or PC to upload their music collections "from iTunes or your other folders."


The e-commerce giant launched Cloud Player last March, just months before Apple would preview its own iCloud and iTunes in the Cloud features.

Cloud Player was initially not compatible with iOS, though the music streaming service began unofficially working a few months after launch.

Last November, third-party iOS applications making use of Amazon's Cloud Drive were reportedly removed from the App Store because of legal issues. Record labels had been unhappy with Amazon for releasing Cloud Player without negotiating new licenses.