Microsoft releases Skydrive application for Apple's Iphone and Windows Phone 7.5

SOFTWARE REDEVELOPER Microsoft has released its digital locker service Skydrive for Apple's Iphone and its own Windows Phone devices.

Microsoft's Skydrive has been pushed onto Windows Phone users, however the firm has now released a native application for the service on both its own Windows Phone operating system and Apple's Iphone. The service allows users to store files on its cloud service and retrieve them on multiple devices.

However Microsoft seems to understand that so few people use Windows Phone that, for Skydrive to be deemed a success, it really needs to appear on the Iphone or Google's Android. Given that Google already has a digital locker service in Google Docs, Microsoft was left with Apple's Iphone.

The Redmond company said, "We realize that not everyone who relies on Skydrive for sharing photos or accessing Office documents uses Windows Phone... yet. We have a long history of supporting Iphone customers with built-in support for Hotmail and with apps like Bing, Messenger, Onenote (with Skydrive sync), and now Skype."

Although Microsoft has seemingly tighter Skydrive integration in Windows Phone, it is the Iphone app that is more likely to attract an influx of users. Digital locker services are becoming increasingly popular as a way of sharing information between smartphones and tablets without the need for removable storage.

Microsoft has said it could take a few hours before the Skydrive application is available in various parts of the world. We will be interested to find out if many people actually use it. µ