Amazon Cloud Player

Sorry about the lack of reviews again; I promise I'll be back to it soon. For now, I have some comments to share regarding Amazon's recently released cloud-based music player.

I've been looking into Amazon Cloud Player / Cloud Drive the last couple of days and (being a heavy Ubuntu user) comparing it to Ubuntu One. While I think Ubuntu One is great, I do not see it as a reasonable alternative to the Amazon service as the buzz on Twitter et al might suggest. The main problem is that just to get mobile support for Ubuntu One costs $4 a month. Amazon's mobile app is available at no extra cost. Also consider the fact that Amazon's free basic plan is for 5GB of storage compared to Ubuntu's 2GB (not to mention the extra 15GB that's free for a year if you buy an MP3 album from Amazon by December 31). My main gripes so far with ACP:

1. It only supports MP3 and AAC. No lossless codecs, no open codecs (e.g. OGG, which I use extensively)
   
   
2. While albums/songs purchased from Amazon can be saved directly to your Cloud Drive (which eliminates uploading AND makes them exempt from consuming your allotted space), songs you have previously purchased can't be transferred this way. According to Amazon's FAQ, even if you do save songs directly, if you delete them you have to re-upload them (i.e., you can't save them directly to the Cloud Drive a second time), and again you lose the perk of "free storage." There are a number of quips throughout the site that are misleading about this (stating that Amazon MP3s are "always stored for free"), so be aware of the exceptions.

Regarding #1, Ubuntu One seems to operate the same way, only supporting the MP3 format in the cloud-based player. Lame, especially considering the open-source nature of Ubuntu; it should at least support one open format, don't you think?

Ubuntu One wins on #2, though. Your purchases from the Ubuntu One Music Store are always available on the cloud drive. However, it doesn't allow streaming through the web interface like Amazon's new player; you have to download the files. Streaming is available in the (paid) mobile app, which is available for both Android and iOS (Amazon's is Android only at the moment).

This article contained the best comparison I've seen so far. Pay special attention to the table that notes the pricing options for both. The most notable advantage to Ubuntu One seems to be the file sync feature, which, while nifty, does not take full advantage of cloud functionality as it applies to music files.

What do I want to see? Well, first off, a major music store that offers multiple file formats. Assuming that's not likely to happen, in addition to what Amazon is offering, I'd like to see a player in the cloud service that plays those formats through the web browser (even if the store doesn't offer them). Android/iOS streaming support can be via a paid app if necessary, but it should not require a monthly fee. And most importantly, if this service is applied to an existing music store, any benefits (such as free storage) that apply to purchases should also apply to your previous purchases.

Am I asking too much, wanting to see a full-featured media platform in the cloud? Is Ubuntu One so much more expensive because it's targeting productivity more than media access? I guess I can only hope Amazon adds features, or wait for someone else to pick up that ball.