Mozy

Although mobile support for Mozy Stash is currently in its infancy, the Mozy app for mobiles includes some early features supporting Stash.

This post focuses on Android, which is currently a little bit ahead of iOS in its Stash support. (If you have an iPad or iPhone, I encourage you to check out the post “iPhone + Stash = Awesomeness” in the Stash forums.) So, let’s take a look at what you can do with Stash from the Mozy app for Android.

Uploading Photos and Videos to Stash

If you have installed the Mozy app on your Android phone (or on a Galaxy tablet, or a Kindle Fire), you can send photos and videos directly to your Stash. When the upload completes, any computers you have linked to your Stash will then download the photo to a special folder in your Stash. (Currently, the folder is called “Mobile Sync,” but this will change in an upcoming update to the app.)

Here’s how you do it:

First, launch the Gallery app and select the photo (or video) you want to send to your Stash.

Then, click the Share button, highlighted in green in the above graphic.

Next, select Mozy from your list of available apps.

Finally, select Upload to send the photo to your Stash.

Note: Depending on your wireless data plan, you might want to reserve this for when you have a WiFi connection if you plan to do it often. Photos and videos can quickly chew into your mobile data plan.

Automatic Uploads

While the Mozy app on both Android and iOS support manual uploads, the Mozy app currently only offers “automatic upload” for Android. Automatic upload is a preference setting that causes your Android to automatically upload all photos and videos on your phone. It’s kind of like having Mozy online backup for your Android’s photos and videos. As with manually uploaded media, auto-uploaded media get download on any computers you have linked to your Stash.

Let’s take a look at how to enable it.

To enable automatic upload, launch the Mozy app and go into Preferences, then select Upload Settings.

You can select whether to auto-upload photos, videos, or both. Also important is the Only on WiFi setting. If you’re a serious shutterbug, or you enable automatic upload of videos, this setting ensures that your uploads don’t eat up your mobile data plan, which can be costly. When enabled, uploads won’t happen until your Android device has a WiFi connection. (Ten seconds of HD video on my HTC Desire creates a 5 megabyte file!)

Note: The auto-upload feature is that it’s currently in an early beta stage. Consequently, it may upload images from other applications. (My HTC Desire HD device uploads four images of buttons used in some other app.) We plan to improve this in an upcoming release.

That’s it for this Stash update, but since you’re still reading, you’re probably an avid fan of the Android platform. So, perhaps you will find this next section informative.

Android fun fact

The term “android” was originally coined in 1919 by Isaac Asimov. It was a typo, in which he accidentally swapped the article “a” for “an.” He actually meant, “a droid.” Few people know this. Similarly, most people don’t know that the I in I, Robot was originally intended to be a Roman 1, to enumerate the first story in what became a series of nine. On hearing the first story’s title, Asimov’s eager fans anticipated that the second story would chronicle the life of a robot pirate captain (“Aye, Aye, Robot!”). In his dismay, Asimov hastily renamed the series’ second story “Runaround,” then re-purposed his original title to cover the complete set of nine. True story.

Ahem.

Be safe, and happy Stashing,

Ted

Yesterday, I discussed how online backup is evolving to include data availability. No longer being purely about preserving your files and protecting against loss, Mozy seeks to ensure that you are never without your data. Following on the heels of the Mozy app and updates to the Mozy Web Access interface, the release of Stash is our next big step toward fulfilling this part of the Mozy promise.

We think Stash will change how you use Mozy. But yesterday’s beta launch is just the beginning. We have several feature enhancements coming that will make Stash even better. Here’s a quick look at a few of the updates we plan during the beta.

Web Access

While you can access your Stash through the Mozy web site today, the current “Web Access” interface was designed for restoring files from backup. That means that it shows files and folders that you may have already deleted or moved in addition to your current data.

Within a couple months, we plan to roll out “Web Access 2.0.” This release has been designed not only to make performing restores easier, but also to better support Stash. In addition to refining how it displays your files, Web Access 2.0 also enables you to upload files, and manage the contents of your Stash.

The Mozy App for Android and iOS

Since the start of the Stash private beta last June, a lot of early adopters have asked for more Stash features in Mozy’s mobile app. Currently, you can upload photos and videos to your Stash. Over the coming months, we plan to make several incremental updates, such as making it possible to upload any file type from your iPhone, iPad or Android device.

Performance

The next updates to the Stash software (0.11) will introduce significant performance improvements. Our Stash core engineers have been working to accelerate synchronization of changes to files in your Stash. What they have worked out is pretty slick, and you will notice a big speed boost for file updates.

That’s the short list of what’s coming up. Of course, we have a lot more in store than that. Many have asked us whether Stash is going to include features for sharing and collaboration. Allowing Mozy customers to connect with each other in this way is definitely something we want to do, but first we must get Stash out of beta. Check out the Stash beta forum for several other common feature ideas and requests.

For now, be safe, and happy Stashing,

–Ted

Have you found a use for your Mozy mobile app recently? From viewing backed up documents and spreadsheets on my iPhone, to syncing pictures between my phone and computer with the new Stash beta, the app is quickly becoming one of the most used on my phone.

All of the features packed in to this app make it a must-have for every Mozy customer. And the recent release of version 1.2 of the app for iOS devices even allows for the use of personal encryption keys, keeping the data on your phone that much more safe. (Don’t worry Android users – an Android version with the same capability is right around the corner!)

On top of all that, Mozy’s mobile app is in the running for two awards in the 5th Annual Mashable Awards.

The awards are partially determined by fan vote, and we need your vote! You can nominate Mozy for each award once a day between Oct. 11 and Nov. 18.

Click on the buttons below to vote – you’ll be sent to the Mashable site to finish the process.

Nominate Mozy for the “Best Branded Mobile App”:

Nominate Mozy for the “Most Useful Mobile App:”

Don’t yet have the Mozy app on your phone? Get started here: mozy.com/mobile.

About the Mashable Awards:

“The Mashable Awards is a community-nominated voting program that recognizes the companies, people and projects that made the biggest impact on the digital landscape this year. Millions of votes will be cast in 28 categories such as Best New Gadget, Most Social TV Show and Must-Follow Brand on Social Media.”

The Mozy Android app is now available!

You can find the app in the Android market (either send the app to your device online or access and download the app from the market on your Android device).

Like the Mozy iOS app, MozyHome users can access their Mozy backed up files from their mobile device. Additionally they can download the file and use it with other Android apps that support the file type.

Three restrictions do apply:

• Only users in the U.S. and Canada can access the Mozy app in the Android market. (A global update is planned to release soon.)
• The Mozy app only works with MozyHome accounts at this time. (An update for MozyPro customers is already under development.)
• If you have opted to encrypt your backups with your own private key, this Android app version cannot decrypt your files.

Learn more about our Mozy mobile offerings.

We are excited to announce that the Mozy iPhone app is now available on the iTunes App Store!

What can you do with it?

For this first version of the Mozy app, our goal is simple: We want to provide MozyHome customers an app for accessing their files backed up to Mozy. There are some very cool features, such as emailing a file, opening in other applications, and viewing photos or sharing them to Facebook. But we kept the feature set lean because we hope to update frequently based on user feedback. This version is the beginning of something that we plan to update regularly.

Getting it

You can find the Mozy iPhone app in the iTunes App Store (either from iTunes or your iOS device).

Three restrictions apply:

• The Mozy app is listed in iTunes only for users in the US & Canada. (A global update is planned to release soon.)
• The Mozy app currently only works with MozyHome accounts. (An update for MozyPro customers is already under development.)
• If you have opted to encrypt your backups with your own private key, this version cannot decrypt your files.

Learn more about our Mozy mobile offerings.