Amazon Cloud Player: mp3 albums for only 99p

The Amazon Cloud Player is a joy to use and offers over 600 different mp3 albums from just 99p.

Amazon has upped the ante in its battle against mega-rival Apple by launching Amazon Cloud Player. Already available since July in the US, Cloud Player has now been rolled out to the UK.

Cloud music

A rival to Apple's iTunes Match music service, Cloud Player allows Amazon customers to download, backup, store and play their digital music. These tracks can then be enjoyed anywhere, accessed using Cloud Player via a whole range of devices. These include:

• PC and Mac computers;
• Android and iPhone smartphones, plus the iPod touch;
• Tablet computers, including Amazon's Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD and Apple's iPad range; and
• Sonos wireless home music systems.

Cloud Player can be accessed through web browsers such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Mac Safari, or via dedicated apps for smartphones and tablet computers. Gadget-mad users can register up to ten devices with Cloud Player, versus only five for iTunes Match.

Import and upgrade your own songs

One great feature of Amazon Cloud Player is it allows you to import your music collection, giving you a secure backup of mp3 tunes to download or play anytime. You can even import music bought from iTunes or ripped from CDs.

What's more, any imported tracks are immediately available in Cloud Player, after an automatic 'matched' upgrading to high-quality 256 Kbps audio -- a similar service to iTunes Match. In other words, low-quality recordings will instantly be upgraded to higher-definition versions.

Your first 250 imported songs (5GB storage) are free, but this limit does not include tunes bought from Amazon. After this, Cloud Player Premium charges a yearly fee of £21.99 to store up to an incredible 250,000 songs. This is ten times the capacity currently offered by iTunes.

Once imported, Cloud Player makes it easy to search and browse your library by song, artist, album or genre. Like iTunes, it also allows you to create and manage music playlists, stream your music from the Cloud, or download it to play offline.

20 million songs for sale

Of course, Cloud Player also gives you access to Amazon's huge music library, which offers over 20 million songs and a million albums from a huge range of artists. Most songs start at 89p and albums are priced from £3.99, and include all chart-toppers and recent bestsellers.

All mp3 songs and albums you buy from Amazon -- including any bought previously -- will automatically be added to your personal Cloud Player. This gives you a secure, easily accessible backup of all tunes you've purchased from Amazon.

Over 600 albums for 99p

To celebrate the launch of Cloud Player in the UK, Amazon is offering a special discount to customers who sign up by Sunday 30th September.

Here's how this deal works:

1. Go to Amazon Cloud Player.
2. Choose one of more than 600 albums for sale for £3.99.
3. Click on the link labelled 'redeem your Amazon gift card or promotional code' in the box in the right-hand upper corner of the page.
4. Enter this promotional code: CLOUD99P.
5. This code will add £3 to your Amazon MP3 balance.
6. Next, click on '1-click' to buy an album for £3.99 (you will need to sign into your Amazon account).
7. Amazon will then take a payment of 99p (£3.99 less £3 credit).

I'm already Cloud listening

Although not usually an early adopter when it comes to technology and gadgets, I signed up to Cloud Player straight away.

Personally, I find Cloud Player easy, simple and powerful to use. What impresses me most is its sheer speed and convenience. My first purchase appeared instantly, followed seconds later by other mp3 albums I'd previously purchased from Amazon.

To me, Cloud Player and similar digital music storage systems are definitely the way forward, as they enable us to keep all of our music in one place and access and play it whenever and wherever we like. What's more, it should finally put an end to annoying USB drives, cables and endless software updates!

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