Cloud Storage Face-off: Dropbox vs Google Drive vs SkyDrive |
| Cloud Storage Face-off: Dropbox vs Google Drive vs SkyDrive Posted: 18 Oct 2012 02:59 AM PDT If you follow hongkiat.com closely, you’ll know that we have mentioned Dropbox, Google Drive and SkyDrive before. In this article, we’re going to compare these three cloud storage services head to head.
Cloud storage services are so handy nowadays as it saves space on your portable drive, smartphone or computer; it syncs all your files throughout all your devices, its cross-platform compatibility and best of all, you can get storage space for free. Sharing big or multiple files is also made easy while it securely keeps your files away from public computers. Note: This article will involve a lot of in depth information that might be lengthy to read; if you want a gist comparison of the three services, check out the Table of Comparison. 1. Storage SpaceEach service offers different amounts of free storage and a variety of premium storage spaces. DropboxDropbox starts you off with 2GB of free storage but you get referral perks, that is 500 MB of extra space for every friend you refer Dropbox to. More than 35 referrals later, you’ll be able to earn a maximum of 18GB, giving you a grand total of 20GB inclusive of your initial 2GB. For more storage, you can opt for the Pro Dropbox account that offers 100GB, 200GB and 500GB from $9.99, $19.99 and $49.99 per month respectively or save 17% by paying $99, $199 and $499 yearly. Dropbox Teams provides a solution for large groups of users, between 5 and 50 users. The Team package comes with administrative tools for centralized management of files and is very flexible depending on how many users or storage space you require. Google DriveGoogle Drive is readily available within your Gmail account. From there you start with 5GB worth of storage space. Additional space can be purchased with a wide variety of plans (ranging from 25GB to 16TB). Upgrading to any account will also give you the same amount of storage in Picasa while your Gmail Storage is upgraded to 25GB. SkyDriveSkyDrive comes with 7GB of free storage. They have the cheapest upgrade plans among the 3 services which you can see in the picture below. They classify their upgrades as add-ons to your 7GB of space; unlike the previous two services. As they are also fairly new to the scene, there are no bigger storage plans to offer yet. 2. Supporting PlatformsWe’ll now take a closer look at what platforms each cloud service currently supports: Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Windows Phone. DropboxThe Dropbox desktop application is available on Windows, Mac OS and Linux. Dropbox is also available on iOS, Android and BlackBerry. Dropbox is the only service that currently natively supports Linux; and also the only service to support BlackBerry. Google DriveGoogle Drive is available for Windows and Mac OS; however unlike Dropbox, it has no native support for Linux and relies on third party programs. In terms of mobile, Google Drive is available only on iOS and Android. SkyDriveSkyDrive is readily available for Windows and Mac OS; just like Google Drive, it relies on third party programs for it to be used on Linux. For mobile platform support, SkyDrive is the only service that has their own app for Windows Phone; it is also available on iOS and Android. Speaking of Windows Phone support, there is a third party Windows phone app that supports Dropbox, unlike Google Drive which has yet to enter the Windows phone scene. 3. FeaturesWe’ll now take a look at the unique and common features that can be found in each cloud service. DropboxBesides ‘earning’ storage space through referrals, you can get more free space by using Dropbox’s Camera Upload feature on your desktop or smartphone. Dropbox also has a unlimited undo (version) history feature for an extra $39 a year, only available with a Pro Dropbox account. Uploading files through the Dropbox website has a limit of 300MB, which is the same for the SkyDrive website. Whereas, uploads through the Dropbox Desktop app have no file size limit (unlike the 2GB file limit on SkyDrive). Dropbox has also successfully integrated with Facebook Groups where you can share files from your dropbox files to your Facebook Groups. Google DriveGoogle Drive allows you to disable automatic deletion of old versions which means you can keep all file revisions as long as you want although doing this maxes out your storage space quickly. Google Drive is also an online document editor which converts your Microsoft Office document (.doc / .docx) into a Google Document (.gdoc) before editing. There is a file size upload limit of 10GB on the desktop app and website version. SkyDriveInstalling the SkyDrive desktop application allows you to access every file on that PC it is installed in; so as long as your PC is turned on, connected to the internet with SkyDrive running, you’ll be able to access all your files through the SkyDrive website. SkyDrive also has Microsoft Web Apps which include Microsoft Office Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote on the web browser. Although it does not have every feature found on the desktop application, it is sufficient enough for quick editing jobs. An added feature is the OneNote mobile app that works together with SkyDrive, where you can take notes that automatically syncs and uploads to SkyDrive. Some Common FeaturesVersion history. A feature available on all services, deleted files are kept intact for 30 days before being permanently deleted. In Google Drive, you get to keep 100 document revisions while SkyDrive offers you 25. Selective folder syncing. Available in Dropbox and Google Drive, this allows you to sync only files or folders you need when you access your files from another computer. Not included in SkyDrive. Events tracking. Another feature not found in SkyDrive yet, this allows you to monitor activities on folders or edits on files. Customized sharing permission. On Google Drive and SkyDrive you can not only customize who gets to see which files, users also get to simultaneously edit documents online and comment on the files. Sharing on Dropbox is limited to just the download link for access to the file. 4. File Type SupportYou can upload any file type to the cloud but you can view only file types that are supported. Iif the service does not support the file, all you can do is download it onto your computer to view and edit. Videos and images are supported on all three services, but we need to wait longer for audio playback as it is against copyright law (still). Each service has varying levels of file support. DropboxDropbox does not have any online document editor which means files only can be downloaded. However, for the Dropbox app on your smartphone or tablet, you are able to view Microsoft Office files, Apple iWork files, audio/video files, images, and PDF files. Documents cannot be edited with the app but can be opened with another editing app. Google DriveThe Google Drive website supports unique files like Adobe Illustrator (.AI) and Photoshop (.PSD) files, Autodesk AutoCad files and Scalable Vector Graphics files. You can also view Microsoft Office documents, but can only edit it after converting it to a Google Docs file type. The Google Drive app does not fully support viewing the unique files like its website counterpart does. However, you can do basic edits to Google Docs files and view movie files through the app. SkyDriveMost Microsoft Office file types can be viewed and edited thanks to its Microsoft Web App. The website version only supports playback for .MP4 and .WMV video files, while other video and audio formats can only be downloaded. The website also supports slideshows for images and PowerPoint files. The SkyDrive app only allows you to view files in a way similar to Dropbox. 5. SecurityUsing cloud storage services means your files are online. This situation is a whole lot more vulnerable than having your files confined to your computer at home. But rest assured that these services have solutions for your security woes. Added SecurityDropbox and Google Drive have a 2-step verification feature when logging in to your account through the website. A standard email and password login is followed by a second punch-in of a security code sent to your smartphone by SMS or by using the Google Authenticator App (iOS/Android). On the other hand SkyDrive handles security differently by sending a security code to your secondary email address when accessing sensitive information like editing your contact info or connecting your PC for remote access. For MobileIn terms of mobile app security, Dropbox is the only app that has a 4-digit passcode. Although this is a basic security feature, it’s one step ahead than Google Drive and SkyDrive. Wrapping upHere’s a short rundown of each service to help you determine which service to select. DropboxDropbox is a powerful and simple sharing tool that has been around the longest among these 3 services. Its referral system to earn storage space is also unique and a great crowdpuller. It is also very secure with 2-step verification, and a 4-digit passcode lock for the mobile app. Other benefits include natively supporting Linux and Blackberry unlike the other 2 services. Google DriveGoogle Drive has unique file type support (Adobe, AutoCad files) which makes it easier to view those files online. Although you can edit documents online, you’ll have to convert it to a Google Document that might mess up the formatting of the original Microsoft Office file. It is also secure with 2-step verification which is linked throughout your Google account and other services. SkyDriveSkyDrive is somewhat in the early stages of being a slightly improved service of Google Drive because of Microsoft Web Apps for online editing, with similar sharing settings and simultaneous editing features. SkyDrive also starts you off with the most amount of free space. Unique features found in SkyDrive (not found in the other 2) is the remote access to the files on your PC, native support for Windows Phones and the ability to take sync notes on your mobile via OneNote app. Each service has its strength and weaknesses which is why one service is not necessarily better than the other. If you’re unsure of which to start using, go ahead and try all 3. Afterall, they don’t cost anything and you get a total of 14GB of online storage to start on! Table of Comparison
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| Gmail on the iPhone: Google’s App or Apple’s Mail App Posted: 18 Oct 2012 02:51 AM PDT Editor’s note: This article is contributed by Joe Pawlikowski who writes, edits, and consults for many blogs across the web, mostly in the technology realm. He’s a heavy iPhone user who has considered jumping to Android solely for Gmail purposes. It seems that everyone has at least one gmail address these days, and with good reason. While services like Hotmail (now Microsoft Hotmail), Yahoo! Mail, and other web email services have slipped and faltered, Gmail has grown stronger with time. It brings powerful features to the field, and at times it seems that there is nothing it can’t do. Gmail fanatics not only use the service heavily, but also tweak it to fit their specific needs. Here are just some examples of how flexible and customizable Gmail has become.
Yet there is one aspect of Gmail that doesn’t get discussed too frequently, eventhough it’s one of the most common ways we experience Gmail. Gmail on the MoveModern smartphones might appear more like toys or entertainment devices rather than serious productivity tools, but at the backbone of every smartphone platform is the email. In the past few years, tablets have joined smartphones as an alternative accessing the Web and your emails while on the move. It’s no surprise then that no matter what tablet or smartphone you use, Gmail is available for you in some form or another. Gmail on AndroidOn Android smartphones and tablets, the Gmail app sits front and center. It is Google’s own creation, and it provides you with nearly every function characterized by the web version of Gmail. That’s sensible because Android devices run Google’s software – it’s with other mobile platforms that a dilemma arises.
Gmail on iOSOn the iPhone many, if not most, users run Gmail through the default Mail app. The interface is nice and simple. It runs fast, and gives you all the basics of your email right in your inbox. You can even run multiple accounts through the Mail app, so you can have all of your emails in one place. Yet there is plenty missing from a Gmail perspective. To compensate for this, Google has released a Gmail app for the iPhone. But the question remains: which provides the better Gmail experience? Gmail on iOS Mail AppFirst, here’s how you can set up your Gmail account on your iPhone’s Mail app.
There’s just one hitch to this process: your iPhone will pull messages from the server at a certain interval (which you can set). That means your phone’s battery will drain faster and you won’t be able to see new messages instantly. Thankfully, there’s an easy workaround to this issue. Microsoft ExchangeIf you want instant push email, you can check out this Google support doc that goes over the process. Essentially, you’ll set up your Gmail as a ‘Microsoft Exchange’ account. You’ll select this from the Add Account… menu, rather than Gmail. Using the server m.google.com, you can set this up in a minute or so. Once you’ve set up your Gmail as a Microsoft Exchange account, you can enjoy instant emails on your iPhone. There are LimitationsStill, there are some inadequacies. The Mail app lacks several features that Gmail users love. Yes, they import your labels as folders and sync them both ways, so you can still label every bit of mail you receive. Have you ever tried to do the following on the Mail app?
Granted that some of these are possible with the Mail app, but the process isn’t easy. It’s enough to frustrate a loyal Gmail user. I’ve often wondered how many have jumped ship to Android, just for the easier use of Gmail. Gmail for iPhoneLast year Google released a dedicated app for the iPhone. It launched to lukewarm and even poor reviews, but Google did make improvements in the following few months. What they have now is a usable app that is in many ways superior to Apple’s Mail app. Any dedicated Gmail user would do well to use it instead of Mail. Why use the Gmail mobile app? The reasons could fill pages and pages, but here are the best ones. Instant updatesWhen you get a new email, the badge on the Gmail app updates. This is pretty standard, of course, but it’s something the app has over the standard Gmail setup on iPhone. Priority InboxOne of the greatest Gmail features Google ever introduced was priority Inbox. This means nothing on the iPhone Mail app, but it means everything in the Gmail app. With just a tap, you can filter your important and unread emails, your starred emails, or just view everything in traditional mode. Archives and searchIf you’re a compulsive email archiver, the Mail app might frustrate you. But with the Gmail app there’s an archive icon right on the screen. You can also search through your archived mails with ease. On the Mail app, the search doesn’t work too well unless the email is actually on the device. Advanced functionsTap the down arrow in any email and you’ll see many familiar options. Most notably, you can report an email for spam (unavailable in Mail) or mark it as unread (have to be in the main inbox, and requires a few clicks in Mail). You can also easily add a label from there as well, and even print if you need to. Undo actionsSometimes our fingers slip and delete or archive a mail when we didn’t intend to do that. This is particularly bothersome in two-way sync environments. But with the Gmail app you can simply click Undo and get it all back intact. Send mail asWhen you load the Gmail app, you can send mail under any of your authorized gmail addresses. You can set this up in the Mail app if you use the Microsoft Exchange method, but that’s an extra step you have to take. The Drawback: Launch SpeedThere is but one drawback to the Gmail for iPhone app: it takes a while to load. While it does show your unread message count in the badge on the home screen, those mails aren’t instantly loaded when you click on the icon. You might sit through 10 seconds with the Gmail logo on your screen waiting for it to load. But if you can handle that small delay (and it’s really not much), there’s really nothing the Mail app has over Gmail for iPhone. Wrap UpOf course, customization on a smartphone or tablet is a personal decision, so perhaps some people feel more comfortable using the Microsoft Exchange method in the Mail app. Heavy Gmail users will find many more of their favorite features in the Gmail for iPhone app. If you don’t have it, it’s worth a download from the App Store. If you have it and don’t use it, perhaps it’s time to give it a whirl. Related posts:
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