Got a ton of tunes stashed in the cloud? DoubleTwist’s new Android app can play it all, with support for multiple storage services as well as your local media.
CloudPlayer supports Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive, features a clean Material Design-inspired interface and can play lossless formats. Could this be your next default music app? I took CloudPlayer for a spin today to find out.
To get started, you’ll need to connect your online storage accounts to CloudPlayer. The app takes a while to index your locally stored media, then your cloud-based tracks and pull in album art, so you’ll have to wait for a bit if you have a large collection (about three seconds per track you own).
You can then browse your library by artist, album, song, genre, composer or playlist. The app lets you stream and queue tracks just as you would with your local media.
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CloudPlayer works like a charm when you have a decent connection; for the times you don’t, you can cache tracks and listen to them offline.
The app supports the usual gamut of audio formats including MP3, AAC, and OGG, as well as lossless FLAC and ALAC files. That means you don’t have to worry about running out of local storage on your phone because of your weighty high-resolution tracks.
There are a bunch of other premium features that you’ll get to try out during a free seven day trial, such as support for Chromecast and AirPlay streaming, a 10-band EQ and SuperSound audio enhancement.
The EQ and sound options didn’t do much for me when I tested them on my headphones and 2.1 desktop speakers. The ‘widening’ option seemed to just cut all the bass and most of the mids from the output, and I don’t see how that helps any kind of audio. I’d prefer hiding these settings entirely and not paying for them either.
You’ll need to shell out $8.99/£4.99 to continue using CloudPlayer’s streaming capabilities along with its other premium features. That’s not bad, if you have loads of music stored online and don’t have access to on-demand music services like Spotify.
CloudPlayer also offers a few advantages over services like Google Play Music: It doesn’t compress your tracks while streaming, limit the number of times you can download a track, or restrict how many devices you can use it with.
Another option for taking your audio library with you is Style Jukebox, which offers room for 3,000 tracks in their original format and support for two linked devices for free, or 25,000 songs for $25 a year. It’s really a matter of whether you’re already paying for storage space and if you use it for music.
I like CloudPlayer’s elegant interface and appreciate how well it handles music stored online. If you’re looking for a way to take your tracks wherever you go, this is a solid option that’s worth the price.
➤ CloudPlayer [Android]
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