If consumer software makers don’t know this by now, they must be living in some other world. It’s now mandatory to make your application work on devices other than notebook and desktop PCs.
They had better be optimizing their handiwork for smartphones, connected music players and tablets, or they’ll be missing the train.
Cloud storage backup provider EMC Mozy joined this ever-growing trend March 30 in launching a new mobile application for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch. The company said it will also be providing a similar version within the next few months for use in Android mobile devices.
Because Mozy’s mobile apps run as native applications on all devices, consumer subscribers to the storage service are able to access all their files independently in their MozyHome storage holders. For example, users can view documents and open them in other applications, such as a browser.
They also can preview photos as thumbnails, download those they want to see in higher resolution, and post photos and videos to Facebook accounts, Mozy said.
The new app is available for free download by MozyHome subscribers in the iTunes App Store for U.S. and Canadian users for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad devices running iOS Version 4.0 and later, Mozy said. The Android app will be available later this year in the Android Market; it will work on devices running Android 2.0 or later, Mozy said.
A similar application for MozyPro, the company’s business-level service, will be available at a later date, Mozy said, as will versions available outside the United States and in languages other than English.
Mozy, founded in 2004, claims more than 1 million consumer customers, 70,000 business users and 70 petabytes of information stored at its multiple data centers around the globe.