Strato brings HiDrive storage to iPhone, iPad and Android

Web hosting firm Strato has announced a HiDrive application for Android and iOS that allows users to access the online storage service remotely.

The HiDrive app lets users manage files using smartphones, and the iOS application comes with a feature allowing users to stream video content directly to an iPhone or iPad.

The applications are expected to be released soon, and will be available to download free of charge.

Strato has also added a handful of services to HiDrive, including a DVD send-in service that allows large amounts of data to be burned onto a DVD and sent to Strato to upload to HiDrive.

This is ideal for customers with large amounts of data who do not have the time or resources to upload it directly to HiDrive, according to Annette Hoxtell, sustainability advisor at Strato.

Users sending a DVD to Strato get an ID token, and the information is uploaded and the disc destroyed after the data has been uploaded, Hoxtell said.

Strato also offers the option in Germany to transfer data from machine-readable hard drives, but there are no plans to offer this internationally at the moment for logistical reasons.

Additional features added to HiDrive include a mail-upload option that allows friends and colleagues of HiDrive users to upload content via email without having to create a new user account.

The upload share feature, meanwhile, allows users to share pictures and presentations via a web site instead of by email.

The HiDrive online storage service offers 500GB for storing and sharing files and behaves like a local hard drive.

The service supports encrypted communications and provides an automatic backup of each customer account, enabling users to retrieve deleted files and making it ideal for enterprise use.

Rene Wienholtz, chief technology officer at Strato, pointed to additional benefits, in particular the fact that Strato is a German provider that has to comply with strict privacy laws.

"Strato does not have access to any user data and we see customers in the UK and Netherlands are choosing us because of this reason," he told V3.co.uk.

"We don't place any limits on traffic, size or types of files. If they rent space, users should be able to do what they want with it."

Strato is offering the chance to try HiDrive for £5 for the first six months via a Facebook offer. The monthly subscription fee rises to £19 after this introductory period.

Wienholtz also hinted that other options will become available in the UK, and that the company plans to offer 100GB of storage as this amount is proving popular.

Strato HiDrive was the recipient of the coveted five-star award from V3.co.uk when it was reviewed in December.