Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2012/08/27/china_mobile_cloud_icloud/

China Mobile to roll-out 16GB MEGA-cloud platform

Store your data in China. We dare you

By Phil Muncaster

Posted in SaaS, 27th August 2012 12:47 GMT

The world’s largest mobile operator by subscribers, China Mobile, is finally jumping on the cloud computing bandwagon with its own iCloud rival, which will also be available to internet users outside the People’s Republic.

The ‘Mcloud’ service is currently being tested and will be ready before the end of the year, offering users a whopping 16GB – more than three times the amount of free storage offered by Apple, according to China Daily.

Shen Hongqun, deputy general manager of China Mobile’s data business department, described the service as a “digital information bank” for users.

"In the past, people deposited valuables in banks. Now, as we enter a digital life era, we have new demands to keep our information safe, such as messages, files and photos,” Shen told the paper.

Beijing Daily (via Sina Tech) had more details, claiming Mcloud would work across iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices as well as Macs and PCs, which could tempt more users.

However, given the paranoia that exists around Chinese firms, especially in the US, it remains to be seen how enthusiastic customers will be about China Mobile having hold of their data.

State-run China Mobile is easily the largest operator in the world, with over 650 million subscribers and as such anything it does has a major impact on the future of the mobile industry in China and beyond.

The appearance of Mcloud will be a minor blow to Cupertino – chipping away at the popularity of yet another iOS feature.

Apple and China Mobile have not been the best of buddies in the past, though, with the fruit-themed tech maker continually frustrating China Mobile by failing to build an iPhone designed specifically for its home-grown 3G standard TD-SCDMA. ®