‘Infinite storage’ firm Bitcasa debuts mobile apps; will exit beta in February and charge $10/month

Bitcasa, the Silicon Valley startup that promises users ‘infinite storage’ across devices, has been offering desktop apps and a Chrome browser extension for a while now, but mobile apps were missing from its product line-up.

This will soon no longer be the case: Bitcasa is today launching Android and Windows 8/RT applications, enabling users to stream content – music, videos, photos, documents and whatnot – from what it dubs the ‘Bitcasa Infinite Drive’.

Available to both new and existing users starting today, the Android and Windows-compatible apps will soon be joined by iOS apps, which are slated for release in January 2013.

The Bitcasa service is currently free of charge, but the company says in a statement that the beta period will officially end in February 2013, after which Bitcasa will start charging users $10 per month for unlimited storage. This was an expected move, but it’s notable nonetheless.

The press release also mentions the upcoming availability of a Mac app, which is odd, because it’s already live.

Update: Mystery solved. There’s an updated Mac app coming in January.

Bitcasa basically lets users backup and consolidate all of their files and media – regardless of file size – into one ‘Infinite Drive’, which acts like an external hard drive that never runs out of space.

Says Tony Gauda, co-founder and CEO of Bitcasa (who we recently interviewed at the Dublin Web Summit):

“By announcing our cross-platform support today, we are offering our global users secure access on all computers, mobile devices, or Web browsers by streaming from the cloud while allowing them to keep the data they access more often localized on their hard drive.

With an Infinite Drive, mobile users can automatically store and access their photos from any device. It also means that they can send large videos and albums to friends and family, as well as watch videos in multiple formats. It’s an infinite, organized drive in the cloud. Users don’t have to manage it and it’s much safer than their desktop or laptop.”

Bitcasa was founded by former Mastercard and Mozy employees and is backed by investment firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Horizons Ventures, Samsung Ventures and Pelion Venture Partners.

➤ Bitcasa

Also read:

‘Infinite storage’ startup Bitcasa hires former Box VP; Horizons’ Frank Meehan joins board

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