Cloud Storage

Linking and syncing files and data to some other space has become one of the most wanted features for people with multiple devices. The other factor that has made this a  “must have” is the evolution of smartphones in day to day life. Keeping data in an alternate, more secure place is considered a favorite for the developers and for many official purposes. So, I believe we should discuss those services which provide you with the options of saving your data. Let’s compare them and then you guys can judge.

Google’s “Loch Ness monster,” which you might know as “Google Drive”, is available for you. They used to provide us the facility for keeping documents with “Google Docs”. Google Drive is one step ahead. Some have also called it the Dropbox-killer. On the other side, Dropbox comes with features like syncing multiple files, working together with friends, and streaming data to your smartphones.

I will try to describe the features of a few of the top apps that help with syncing folders, sharing files using password protection, picking which folders you want to sync etc.

Google Drive

Google presented its app with features like:

1. One can open and use up to 30 kinds of files in the browser as compared to Dropbox which does this by using a “web gallery”.
2. If you don’t have Photoshop installed in your system, you still can open Photoshop files in Google Drive.
3. It gives you the feature of OCR text scanning. So, whenever you upload any image on Drive, Google will scan it for you and gives the option of document in text format for search purposes. It is kind of like Evernote Premium. This is important because OCR text scanning software can get really expensive.
4. It offers drag-and-drop syncing of files.
5. It is connected with Google+, Gmail, Android, and other Google services that will let you drop-in or upload files.
6. There is a built-in document editor that is on par with Microsoft’s online Office suite that’s part of SkyDrive.
7. However, you cannot use Drive with multiple accounts. I’m hoping this will be an additional feature in future.
8. 5GB of storage free, with options priced at 25GB for $2.49/month; 100GB for $4.99/month; 200GB for $9.99/month.

Dropbox

Dropbox comes with features like:

1. It can be considered as the best solution for syncing files across multiple devices.
2. The people in groups can share the data among themselves with only a few clicks.
3. It provides simple setting options for making it as easy as possible for users.
4. Developers have the option of using its strong API to make some other apps for using and utilizing the features of Dropbox.
5. One can compare it easily with Evernote in that it is one of the most developer-friendly storage/syncing platforms that apps can leverage to help you access your data everywhere.
6. Offers just 2GB of storage for free,
7. Only one folder can be synced with Dropbox. Though, you can create more folders in it.
8. Expensive extra storage —100GB of storage for $19.99/month.

Apple iCloud

I am not sure that we can compare it with Dropbox as a true competitor, but still it comes with features like:

1. If you only need to sync text documents between different devices then this can be a very handy option.
2. Apps like Pages and iA Writer gives you the option to sync your data with iCloud on Apple’s servers.
3. The versioning of documents is easily done here. OS like “Lion” always keeps the file by taking time of your machine as save this with versions. So when you login next time, you can view the old files as well with previous dates.
4. One of the simplest solutions.
5. Ability to provide the streaming solution for music or videos if you have it on iCloud.
6. Additional 10GB for $20/year; additional 20GB for $40/year; additional 50GB for $100/year.

SkyDrive

This syncing solution is launched by Microsoft. Microsoft brought features like:

1. Offers 7GB of free storage.
2. You can reach up to 25GB of storage space very quickly if you use it fast or (have used SkyDrive before).
3. Best for syncing documents / products like OneNote, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
4. Just like Drive (and Google Docs), we can easily work, edit and create new documents within your browser.
5. SkyDrive also provides features like sharing public links, view-only private links, and view/edit private links.
6. Additional 20GB for $10/year; additional 50GB for $25/year; additional 100GB for $50/year.

Over All:

Source: theverge