Hardware FixRecommendedDevice not working? Your driver may be the problemCheck updates for common hardware issues.Fix DriversOctober DealsAmazon USOctober deal check: compare before you payAmazon US: current deals, useful picks and tech finds.Check DealsWindows FixRecommendedWindows errors stealing your time? Find the fix fastScan stability, cleanup and performance issues.Fix Now×
Skip to content
The Finance Base
The Money Desk · Blog
Re:

Analysis: Why Amazon’s 2015 Unlimited Storage Offer Was No Threat to Cloud Rivals

Amazon’s 2015 unlimited Cloud Drive offer was cheap and broad, but rivals competed on workflow and audience as well as storage. The plans were later discontinued.
From TheFinanceBase Team3 min to read

What’s actually slowing this PC down?

Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Amazon’s 2015 unlimited Cloud Drive offer was strikingly cheap, but low price and vast capacity did not make it a complete replacement for Dropbox, Google Drive or Microsoft’s storage products. The launch-era analysis was about a consumer storage offer competing in a market where audience, workflow and collaboration mattered alongside capacity. Amazon later discontinued the unlimited plans, according to a June 2017 report.

What Amazon announced in March 2015

Amazon announced two consumer Cloud Drive plans on March 26, 2015. The company’s launch announcement priced its Unlimited Photos plan at $11.99 per year. Its broader Unlimited Everything plan came with a three-month free trial, followed by a stated price of $59.99 per year.

Amazon said Unlimited Everything could store photos, videos, files, documents, movies and music. It also said Prime members and Fire device owners who already had unlimited photo storage could choose the broader plan to add videos and files. These prices, terms and plan names describe Amazon’s 2015 announcement, not current offers. Amazon’s announcement described the plan as covering an “infinite number” of new and existing files in those categories.

Why low price did not settle the competition

At launch, the offer drew attention because it undercut competitors on headline storage price. But a storage plan is more than its capacity and annual fee. Contemporaneous coverage also considered whether a service was built for individual consumers, business customers or specialized use, and how people actually moved files into and out of it.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
#1 Best Overall
Sale
Seagate 2TB Portable Hard Drive | USB 3.0 (STGX2000400)
  • Easily store and access 2TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive
  • Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
  • To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
  • This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
  • The available storage capacity may vary.

Capacity and intended audience

Amazon presented its unlimited plans to consumers. TechCrunch noted that unlimited storage was already available in business-focused or specialized services. That distinction matters: an offer aimed at consumers could be compelling on price without matching products designed around business collaboration, enterprise controls or particular working practices. TechCrunch’s launch coverage placed the announcement against Dropbox, Google and Microsoft, but that competitive framing is not evidence that Amazon took customers from them.

File handling and workflow

PCWorld reported a practical drawback in Cloud Drive’s launch-era workflow: users had to select files or folders manually for upload, and retrieving files added from another device required manual downloads. For someone seeking a simple place to store files, unlimited capacity at a low annual price could be attractive; for someone expecting a seamless sync or collaboration workflow, capacity alone did not answer the need. These observations concern the product as covered in 2015, not how any provider’s current service works. PCWorld’s coverage discussed both the price comparison and the file-management trade-off.

Rank #2
Seagate Portable 5TB External Hard Drive HDD – USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, PS4, & Xbox - 1-Year Rescue Service (STGX5000400), Black
  • Easily store and access 5TB of content on the go with the Seagate portable drive, a USB external hard Drive
  • Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
  • To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition software required
  • This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
  • The available storage capacity may vary.

Was Amazon’s plan really unlimited?

Amazon marketed Unlimited Everything as storage for an “infinite number” of files in the listed categories. That was the company’s description of its 2015 plan; the available launch information does not establish that every conceivable use or workflow was supported equally well. The advertised breadth of file categories should therefore be distinguished from the practical question of how conveniently files could be uploaded, retrieved or used collaboratively.

How long did the offer last?

The unlimited Cloud Drive plans did not remain a permanent consumer offering. TechCrunch reported on June 8, 2017, that Amazon had sunsetted them, while distinguishing those plans from the Prime photo-storage benefit available at that time. That report establishes the later end of the unlimited plans, not Amazon’s current photo-storage terms. TechCrunch’s 2017 report covered the change.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
Rank #3
Seagate Portable 1TB External Hard Drive HDD – USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, PlayStation, & Xbox, 1-Year Rescue Service (STGX1000400) , Black
  • Easily store and access 1TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive.Specific uses: Personal
  • Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop. Reformatting may be required for Mac
  • To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
  • This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
  • The available storage capacity may vary.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

What the “no threat” judgment means

The title’s “no threat” is a contemporaneous competitive judgment, not a universal finding that Amazon’s offer could never challenge rivals. The launch showed how a low consumer price could put pressure on headline storage comparisons. It did not, by itself, prove competitor losses or establish that price was the only factor customers considered. Audience, file workflow and the services people needed around storage all shaped the comparison.

The useful takeaway is historical: in March 2015, Amazon paired broad consumer storage categories with a low annual price, but the offer competed against more than a number of gigabytes. It was later discontinued, and none of the prices or product comparisons above should be read as current plan information.

Quick Recap

SaleBestseller No. 1
Seagate 2TB Portable Hard Drive | USB 3.0 (STGX2000400)
Seagate 2TB Portable Hard Drive | USB 3.0 (STGX2000400)
This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable; The available storage capacity may vary.
$119.99
Bestseller No. 2
Seagate Portable 5TB External Hard Drive HDD – USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, PS4, & Xbox - 1-Year Rescue Service (STGX5000400), Black
Seagate Portable 5TB External Hard Drive HDD – USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, PS4, & Xbox - 1-Year Rescue Service (STGX5000400), Black
This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable; The available storage capacity may vary.
$229.99
Bestseller No. 3
Seagate Portable 1TB External Hard Drive HDD – USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, PlayStation, & Xbox, 1-Year Rescue Service (STGX1000400) , Black
Seagate Portable 1TB External Hard Drive HDD – USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, PlayStation, & Xbox, 1-Year Rescue Service (STGX1000400) , Black
This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable; The available storage capacity may vary.
$119.80
Bestseller No. 4
Seagate Portable 4TB External Hard Drive HDD – USB 3.0, 1-Year Rescue
Seagate Portable 4TB External Hard Drive HDD – USB 3.0, 1-Year Rescue
This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable; The available storage capacity may vary.
Best Value
Sale
UnionSine 500GB Ultra Slim Portable External Hard Drive HDD-USB 3.0
  • [Upgraded Version] - This external hard drive features a mirrored logo stripe combined with a striped anti-slip design, and the rounded corners of the casing make it easier to grip. The stripes also have a heat dissipation function, ensuring stable and fast data transfer.
  • 【Ultra-thin and quiet】 - The motherboard adopts JMicron 578 noise-free solution, giving you a quiet working environment. Lightweight and portable size designed to fit in your pocket for easy portability.
  • 【Ultra-Fast Data Transfers】 - Pairing this external hard drive with JMicron 578 solution USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 interfaces enables blazing-fast data transfer. It boasts theoretical read speeds of up to 125MB/s and write speeds of up to 103MB/s.
  • 【Plug and Play】 - With no software to install, just plug it in and the drive is ready to use.The hard disk chip is wrapped with an aluminum anti-interference layer to increase heat dissipation and protect data.
  • 【What You Get】 - 1 x Portable Hard Drive, 1 x USB 3.0 Cable, 1 x User Manual, Gift-type shell packaging ,Three-year manufacturer's warranty and free technical support services.
Rank #4
Seagate Portable 4TB External Hard Drive HDD – USB 3.0, 1-Year Rescue
  • Easily store and access 4TB of content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive.Specific uses: Personal
  • Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
  • To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
  • This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
  • The available storage capacity may vary.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

More post from the Money Desk

  1. The Money DeskBlogTheFinanceBase07 MAR 2625 minWhat Is a 457 Plan?
  2. The Money DeskBlogTheFinanceBase07 MAR 2621 minTime Value of Money: What It Is and How It Works
  3. The Money DeskBlogTheFinanceBase07 MAR 2627 minAre You Living in One of These Top 10 Most Expensive Cities to Retire?
Recommended PC Tool
Recommended PC Tool
Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They SpreadFree repair scan
Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You DownFree scan - exact matches

Two free Windows tools

One Free Minute Could Fix That PC

Before you go - each of these free tools takes about a minute and tackles what quietly slows a Windows PC down.

Special offer. View Outbyte info, uninstall instructions, EULA, and Privacy Policy.