Source: ZDNet
Dropbox,
Microsoft’s SkyDrive, and Google Drive are superficially similar: You get
several gigabytes of free storage just for signing up. By installing a small
Windows app you get the ability to synchronize that storage with the hard drive
on your PC, where you can manage them using Windows Explorer. You can sync
files and folders with other PCs and Macs, access them from mobile devices, and
share them with other people.
Summary: If you’re a
Windows user looking for free online storage, three services stand out from the
rest. Although Dropbox, SkyDrive, and Google Drive are superficially similar,
there are some big differences. Here’s what to look for.
If you’re looking for free (or cheap)
online storage, you have a bewildering assortment of options.
For Windows users, though, three
services stand out from the crowd.
See the companion screenshot gallery:
A deep dive into Dropbox, SkyDrive, and Google Drive
A deep dive into Dropbox, SkyDrive, and Google Drive
In this analysis, I focus on the way
each of these services (and its associated apps) handle four common online
storage scenarios. Each of the three services has a different approach, with
strengths and weaknesses and design choices that make sense when you think
about each company’s business model.
Backup, sync, and remote access
The simplest scenario of all is
personal file backup. Keeping your important files in a folder that is
continually synchronized with an online storage service gives you a backup
security blanket. If your local drive crashes, you can recover those files
quickly and easily.
A side benefit of this approach is
that it allows you to access files easily from multiple devices. If you have a
desktop PC and a notebook, for example, you can start working on a file in your
office. Whatever changes you make are synchronized to the online copy. Grab
your notebook, head off to the airport, and you can pick up where you left
off—as long as you have access to an Internet connection. Because all three
services have apps that allow access from mobile devices, you can accomplish
the same task with a tablet or a mobile phone.
Document creation and editing
Both Google and Microsoft offer the
ability to create and edit a variety of document types directly in a web
browser. With Dropbox, you can view common formats but you need third-party
apps to enable the same editing scenarios.
Online viewing and editing means you
don’t need to worry about whether you’ll have the right app installed—if you
can open your online file storage location in a browser, you can get your work
done.
This capability enables some
important collaboration scenarios as well. Each of the three services allows
you to share a file with another person (or a group of people). So if you’re
passing around a presentation or a spreadsheet, each member of the team can
make changes and add comments.
File sharing
The ability to set up sharing for
specific folders and control access to those folders on a per-user basis makes
it relatively easy to share files online with friends and co-workers.
The simplest benefit, of course, is
replacing large email attachments with simple links. Having a
password-protected central folder makes team-based collaborative scenarios
possible as well, with fewer version-control headaches.
And, of course, the ability to make
a shared file available to the general public makes it possible to use an
online file-sharing service as an FTP alternative.
Photo uploads and galleries
Both Dropbox and SkyDrive have made
substantial investments in their respective services’ capabilities for
uploading, organizing and sharing digital photos. These capabilities include
strong links to social media services such as Facebook and Twitter. Google
Drive is a laggard in this respect. It offers very good photo-sharing
capabilities in Google+, but those features aren’t integrated with Google
Drive, and Google’s integration with other social media is weak.
I’ve put together a gallery showing
off the capabilities of each service. On the next page, you’ll find facts and a
capsule review of each service.
Dropbox
Default
storage:
2 GB, with additional space for referrals and activities
Additional
storage:
Free; Pro packages available in tiers of 50/100 GB for $99/$199 per year
Online
document editing: No
Private/public
sharing:
Yes
Photo
features:
Yes
Native
clients:
Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, BlackBerry
Dropbox has
a visual style all its own. Its online file and folder listing is the opposite
of cluttered, and once you learn how a few simple icons work, you’re pretty
much home free.
Dropbox
does what it does exceptionally well, and it is relentless in its
keep-it-simple focus. New additions to the feature set make it much easier to
view and share photo galleries on line.
I’ve
expressed concerns
over Dropbox security before, but there’s no question about their
commitment to ease of use. If you don’t mind the pressure to convert all your
friends into Dropbox users and you’re willing to upload lots of photos, you can
get up to 16 GB of additional useful online storage.
SkyDrive (Microsoft)
Default
storage:
7 GB (25 GB free as a “loyalty reward” for current users)
Additional
storage:
Extra storage available in 20/50/100 GB increments, at $10/$25/$50 per year,
respectively
Online
document editing: Yes, with Office Web Apps
Private/public
sharing:
Yes
Photo
features:
Yes
Native
clients:
Windows, iOS, Windows Phone, Mac; Android apps via third parties
It used to
be Windows Live SkyDrive. Now it’s just SkyDrive. SkyDrive has been radically
redesigned in the same way Windows 8 has been reimagined.
Your online
storage maps to a single folder on your PC, Mac, or mobile device. Whatever you
put in there can be accessed online via any browser and optionally synced to
other PCs using a Windows utility that Microsoft finally released last week.
A unique
SkyDrive feature allows you to remotely connect to a PC where you’ve installed
the SkyDrive PC client and “fetch” files that aren’t in the SkyDrive folder.
By
Microsoft’s standards, SkyDrive has an extremely clean interface. If you’re
used to the minimalist Dropbox UI, though, you might be overwhelmed, at least
initially.
Office Web
Apps are an especially good match for the new sync utility, and SkyDrive’s
photo gallery features are exceptional as well. SkyDrive’s fatal flaw until now
has been a disconnect from Windows itself. The fact that it finally syncs with
Windows (and other platforms) makes it practically a brand-new service and
worth a strong look.
Google Drive
Default
storage:
5 GB
Additional
storage:
Extra storage available in tiers from 25 GB ($30/year) and 100 GB ($60/year)
all the way up to 16 TB ($9,600 per year)
Online
document editing: Yes, with Google Docs
Private/public
sharing:
Yes
Photo
features:
No (photo sharing is through Picasa and Google+)
Native
clients:
Windows, Mac, Android
Google
Drive is brand new. So new, in fact, that Google is still restricting access to
it. You have to click a request to get your Google Drive, and—for now—you have
to wait a day or more before you can actually sign in.
You don’t
have to look very hard to see that Google Drive is Google Docs, repackaged.
Collections are replaced by folders, and there’s a new My Drive link that lets
you browse the contents of files. But otherwise everything looks the same.
With the
new Windows app installed, you can sync your files with Windows Explorer.
But that’s
about it. In fact, the Drive
part of Google Drive is as bare-bones as it gets. It’s ideal for backup, but it
has no photo capabilities and only rudimentary sharing outside of Google Docs.
And, naturally, it doesn’t allow Facebook connections, as both Dropbox and
SkyDrive do.
If you’re
already a devoted Google Docs fan, Google Drive is a convenient way to add
backup and sync features to a service you already use. But if you’ve resisted
the urge to go Google headfirst, you’ll do better elsewhere.