Jolicloud’s new Drive app gives Chrome and Chrome OS users an easy way to browse cloud-based files

Cloud-based storage aggregator Jolicloud has launched a new Chrome app which allows users to view and keep track of all of their files stored in services such as Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive.

Initially, Jolicloud started out building Joli OS, a lightweight, cloud-based operating system. However, with a changing device ecosystem, the company announced in May this year that it would be discontinued. Since then, we’ve been waiting to see which direction Jolicloud would go in next.

Today we got that answer: Drive. And according to the company’s founder and CEO, Tariq Krim, this is not a pivot, it’s a continuation of the company’s original goal of simplifying cloud storage for the masses, just in a slightly different way.

“We’re re-introducing our product for Chrome and Chrome OS… It’s not a pivot.

For years, we have been able to work with users on a specific use case of having our own OS on a small laptop, and now we thought it was the right time, with the explosion of Chromebooks in the US and now in Europe, and the fact that Chrome is now a billion user platform is quite significant.

Chrome is now the first platform after Android and iOS,” Krim said.

Essenially, Jolicloud’s Drive Chrome app lets you view and manage the assorted files you have stored across cloud storage services like Dropbox, Box and OneDrive, among others.

Now that it’s a multiplatform Chrome app, you can do things like drag-and-drop files from one cloud service to another and view files directly within the app – whether that’s documents, videos, music etc. For example, you can also edit photos, read ePub format eBooks and a whole lot more, all within the Drive app.

For full unfettered access to all the options (including full drag-and-drop file support and multiple accounts per service) you’ll need to pay for the Pro tier, priced at $5/€5 per month or $50/€50 per year.

Jolicloud still has its Web platform, of course, but the new app – and seemingly the overall future direction –  is really focused on Chrome and Chrome OS, and it’s this latter inclusion that offers the most possibilities initially for Drive.

What new Chrome OS users are often confused by is the lack of a real file system. Krim says this is exactly what Drive will provide, plus bring the additional bonus of not being tied to only Google’s services, which Chromebooks obviously tend to be.

“The opportunity for us is that Chrome and Chromebooks are very Google-centric and we’re trying to give people the opportunity for people to bring everything else they have, including Google services, but also the Dropbox, Box, and so on,” Krim told TNW.

Unfortunately, Krim was keeping tight-lipped about the next apps to be added to the Jolicloud platform, but he assured us that Drive is just the first.

➤ Jolicloud Drive | Chrome Web Store

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