App Review: Dropbox
Works with: iPhone, iPad, Android
One of the most convenient ways to share files between devices. I use this on my main PC plus a few other computers.
Tested on: iPad, 1st generation
Gotchas: it saves files to the cloud (currently Amazon.com data centers). It also saves a local copy on all devices. That may or may not bother you.
I use Dropbox for:
- Presentation files
- Images and documents used for writing articles
- Vendor brochures
- Vendor documentation
- Videos, webcasts and other stuff that takes up a lot of space!
- I DO NOT SAVE sensitive data into Dropbox folders. I’m paranoid like that.
Things I didn’t know it could do:
- Erase all Dropbox data from the iPad after 10 failed passcode login attempts
- Allow you to save favorites for offline viewing (I guess if you lose connectivity)
This is a great, easy to use application that is so smooth on the iPad. I’m guessing it will work in a similar fashion on other mobile devices. Everything they do screams “easy”. However, it’s achilles heal continues to be the fact that it stores your data in other company’s servers that are not under your control. Also, if you lose your device that may be a problem if you store sensitive documents. Here’s a link to a security document outlining how they run things: http://www.dropbox.com/static/team/DropboxSecurityOverview.pdf