Free Storage Space	Pricing per month (US$)	Desktop client	Mobile Support	File Sharing	Unique Selling Point
Dropbox	2GB, free referrals upgrade up to 18GB	$9.99 for 50GB $19.99 for 100GB	Windows Mac Linux	Android iOS Blackberry	Yes	Support almost every platforms, sync seamlessly
Skydrive	7GB. Existing users can have free upgrade to 25GB for a limited time	$13/year for $20GB $32/year for 65GB $65/year for 100GB	Windows Mac	WP 7 iOS	Yes	A generous amount of storage space to start with and great integration with Windows OS and devices
Google Drive	5GB	$2.49 for 25GB $4.99 for 100GB $7.99 for 16TB	Windows Mac Linux (coming soon)	Android iOS (coming soon)	Yes	Great integration between Google Docs, Gmail, and Picasa. Cheap and affordable storage space upgrade
Ubuntu One	5GB	$2.99 for every 20GB	Linux Windows	Android iOS	Yes	The native sync client for Ubuntu and supports music and contact sync
iCloud	5GB	$20/year for 10GB $40/year for 20GB $100/year for 50GB	Requires iTunes, for Windows and Mac only	iOS	No	Integrate seamlessly with iOS device and Mac.
Amazon Cloud Drive	5GB	$20/year for 20GB $50/year for 50GB $100/year for 100GB $200/year for 200GB $500/year for 500GB $1000/year for 1TB	Windows Mac (only a upload/download client, not a sync client)	No sync client for mobile (yet). Mp3 saved in the Cloud drive can be played with the Amazon MP3 Android app	No	Music purchased from Amazon will be saved to the cloud drive for free, without affecting the storage status
SpiderOak	2GB	$10/month per 100GB increment	Windows Mac Linux	Android iOS	Yes	Encrypted online backup
SugarSync	5GB	$4.99 for 30GB $9.99 for 60GB $14.99 for 100GB	Windows Mac	Android iOS Blackberry Symbian	Yes	Able to sync any folders on your computer
Box	5GB. Android users and Apps email holder can upgrade to 50GB	$9.99 for 25GB $19.99 for 50GB	Windows & Mac version only for business and enterprise user	Android iOS Blackberry	Yes	Good focus on business side
Wuala	5GB	$39/year for 20GB $79/year for 50GB $129/year for 100GB	Windows Mac Linux	Android iOS	Yes	Wuala encrypts the data on your computer before it is uploaded. During the upload, your data is split up into many different pieces and stored in multiple places to make certain that you never lose a single file.
iDriveSync	5GB	$4.95 for unlimited sync storage	Windows Mac	Android iOS	Yes	Data are encrypted at the data center

The Analysis

If you are looking for a cross-platform compatible storage service, Dropbox is the one to go. It is the easiest to use and supports the most number of OS and platforms.

If you need plenty of storage space and are looking for a cheap and affordable storage provider, you can consider either SkyDrive or Google Drive. For up to 65GB, SkyDrive has the lowest price per GB. When the storage space go up to and above 100GB, Google Drive is the cheapest. However, on the mobile side, you don’t expect Microsoft to come up with an Android app for SkyDrive and Google might not be so keen to create a WP7 app for its GDrive too. If you need to have mobile access, this is something you need to consider as well.

iCloud is the obvious choice for iOS users since it is deeply integrated into the OS. It may not be the cheapest choice though, but with all Apple stuff, it just works.

Amazon Cloud Drive is really useful if you are a regular Amazon customer, particularly if you buy MP3 and eBooks often. I have a feeling that Google will merge its Drive and Music services together in the future, but as of now, Amazon has really done a good job linking your digital download and the cloud storage together.

Being a Ubuntu user, I really like the way that Ubuntu One is integrated into the system. The syncing and restoration is seamless that I can reformat my PC and still have my settings and configuration intact the next time I boot up my PC.

Wuala and SpiderOak are good if you are paranoid about the confidentiality of your files in the cloud. Both services are cross-platform compatible and encrypt your data by default. Wuala offers more storage space for free (5GB) but if you need more than 100GB of space, SpiderOak is slightly more affordable.

Which storage provider is your favorite?

Image credit: By wwarby

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• How to Map SkyDrive As Your Network Drive in Windows 7
• InSync + Google Docs = Cheaper And Better Dropbox?
• Wuala: An Alternative To Dropbox With Security In Mind
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If you have not been active in the blogosphere these few days, the biggest news is the launch of the SkyDrive desktop app and the Google Drive. We are not going to discuss Google Drive today. For SkyDrive, the deal is that your original 25GB storage space (if you are already a SkyDrive user) is reduced to 7GB if you currently have less than 4GB of files in the account. To get more storage space, you will have to fork out money and pay for it. However, for a limited time, Microsoft allows you to upgrade your 7GB storage space to 25GB for… FREE. Here is how you do it. Grab it while it lasts!

1. Go to SkyDrive Live and login to your MSN account.

2. On the left pane, click the “Manage Storage” link.

3. Under the Storage Plans, you should see a “Free Upgrade” link. Click on it.

That’s it. Your SkyDrive storage space should return to 25GB now.

At the same time, do download the SkyDrive app for Windows or Mac too. It allows you to sync and access your SkyDrive folder directly from your desktop, much like the Dropbox-way.

via MSNBC

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What’s The Benefit of A Mapped SkyDrive?

For those who have no idea what a mapped drive is, let’s first explain the concept. When you map a network drive, you give all the computers in your network the ability to use that drive remotely. So let’s say that I map a network drive on computer A, and computer B is connected to computer A through the same HomeGroup and network. Well, with drive mapping, computer B can now use computer A’s hard drive as if though it were physically installed on computer B.

The added benefit to this is that you can easily back up files from computer B in computer A whenever you want to reinstall an operating system or make any other major change.

With a SkyDrive, you don’t map a drive from any computer. You directly have access to 25 GB of Microsoft’s storage real estate, without any catches so far. We don’t know about the future of this service, but it certainly looks good so far.

Mapping the Drive

Let’s get started with mapping your drive! Assuming you are using Windows 7:

• Go to your computer’s control panel and click “User Accounts and Family Safety.”

• Click “User Accounts” near the top.
• Now, click “Link Online IDs” on the left-hand side. You’ll find it here:

• Click on “Add an online ID provider.” This will take you to a page on Microsoft’s website where you can download the Windows Live ID Sign-In Assistant.

• Click the “Download” button and install the Sign-In Assistant. You do not need to restart your computer. Just close the installer once it’s finished. Go back to your “Link Online IDs” window. You should now see something like this:

• Click on “Link online ID” inside your new online ID provider button. Note: Windows might have a bug in which this doesn’t work after freshly installing the Windows Live ID Sign-In Assistant. If this is the case, just close the window and repeat the steps you took to get to the “Link Online IDs” window. It’ll re-open everything, making it functional once again. You should now be at a window like this:

• Once you have signed in, you should see the online ID provider update itself to something like this:

• Now, we need your SkyDrive URL. Log in to SkyDrive and go to your “Public” folder or any other folder that isn’t private. You can make the folder “not private” temporarily while doing this, and revert the changes after you’re done. Be sure to make the folder public.
• Go to the folder and, on the right-side of the page – under “Sharing,” click “Share folder.”
• Click “Get a Link” and create a link for viewing and editing.
• Within the URL, copy the string after “cid-” and before “&” and erase the rest of the URL. You don’t need it for this. For example, if your URL was “https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=cd682326f5242fd4&resid=Cd682326F5242FD4!216&parid=root,” all you need is “cd682326f5242fd4.”
• Now, format the string so that it turns into the internally accessible URL for your SkyDrive folder like so: \\docs.live.net@SSL\cd682326f5242fd4\^2Documents. Note: Don’t forget to replace the CID in the URL with your own CID string. Also, replace “DOCUMENTS” with the name of the folder you’re trying to map. Don’t map folders that are public. Or, at least, don’t put anything you don’t want shared in a public folder.
• Go to “Computer” on your Start menu and click “Map Network Drive.”

• Under “Drive,” select whatever letter you want. Under “Folder,” paste the URL you created earlier.
• Once you click “Finish,” you should be all set!

Congrats!

Once you succeed, you’ll be able to use this drive like any other normal drive, copying files to and from it without a hitch! Your computer will have an extra 25 GB in an off-site location, a perfect solution for when you want to back up any amount of data. Remember not to make any folder where you store personal data public.

Note: For alternative method of accessing SkyDrive on your desktop, here is one software that you can use to mount your SkyDrive account.

Need Help?

The instructions here don’t work for every single computer user in every single situation. If you have any trouble getting acquainted with this method of using your SkyDrive, just leave a comment in the comments section below and we’ll try to answer your inquiry as soon as possible. We are familiar with multiple work-arounds for several different situations, so let us know if anything is wrong.

If you have anything to add to this, or any other cooler and simpler methods of making this work (perhaps a way to do this in Linux?), we’re more than happy to hear this. Just pitch it to us at the comments section, as usual! We’re more than happy to lend you an ear and discuss the method.

You’re also more than welcome to discuss the current method, adding constructive things to the dialogue!

Related Posts:

• A Comparison Guide Of The Various Cloud Storage Services
• How to Claim 25GB of SkyDrive Storage Space While It Lasts
• How To Access Windows Live Skydrive From Your Desktop
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1. Dropbox

Needless to say, our favorite app – Dropbox tops the list. The free account comes with a 2GB space, but you can gain extra storage space (up to 8GB) by referring friends to use the service, or to get connected via any social means. The good thing about Dropbox is that it is available in among all platforms so you can easily drop a file in any of the computer and access it immediately in your mobile phone.

In the Android app, it doesn’t download and sync all the files like it does on the computer. It only shows a list of the files you have in the cloud and download the necessary file only when you need it. Similarly, you can upload files from the Dropbox app. One caveat though, it does not automatically sync the files/folders that you placed in the Dropbox folder.

One additional feature of the Dropbox app is that you can create files (Picture, Video, Audio, Text file, Folder) from your phone. This means that you can quickly take a photo and sync it to the Dropbox folder.

Market link

2. Zumo Drive

If you are unwilling to shell out money for online storage, then ZumoDrive will not be very attractive to you. The free account of ZumoDrive comes only with 1GB of storage space. (Update: Zumodrive comes with 2GB of free storage space as well.) Nevertheless, ZumoDrive does have several tricks up its sleeves. First of all, ZumoDrive supports multiple platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android and Palm Pre. This make managing your files much easier. Secondly, it comes with an inbuilt music player so you can play/stream your music directly from your ZumoDrive account. It saves you space in your SD card and allows you to listen to your music at the same time. Cool.

Market link

3. SugarSync

SugarSync offers 5GB for its free account, so it is a waste if you don’t sign up for it. Regular SugarSync will find the Android version familiar, as it comes with the usual Magic Briefcase and all connected devices.

When it first launches, it will scan your photo gallery and prompt you to backup all your photos to SugarSync. Unless you select “Yes” or “Never”, you will receive the prompt everytime you run the SugarSync app. Selecting “Yes” wil upload your photos in the background.

In my opinion, SugarSync is functionally similar to Dropbox, except that it provides 5GB of free storage space (3GB more than Dropbox). Both of them support multiple platforms, but Dropbox has the slight advantage with Linux support, while SugarSync don’t.

Market link

4. Box.net

If you are looking for a no-frill app with simple interface, then Box.net is the one for you. The Android version of Box.net is just a simple implementation of its web interface. After you have login to the app, you can access or upload files to your web folder.

Similar to the Dropbox app, you can create media content from within the app. Tap on “Menu -> Create” and you can choose to create either audio, video, or image file. Selecting the audio content will launch a voice recorder while the video content will activate your camera in video mode.

The free version comes with 5GB of storage space.

Market link

5. Sorami

Of all the cloud based storage services, Microsoft’s Skydrive is the most general, giving you a whopping 25GB free storage space. The bad thing is, it is purely web based and doesn’t offer any tool for its users to access it from the desktop (or phone). Sorami is an implementation of Skydrive by third party developer. It allows you to access your Skydrive folder and download/upload files to it. This app is still in beta, so there are many unpolished areas, such as slow uploading, doesn’t support simultaneous upload of multiple files etc. Nevertheless, this is your only choice if you are an active Skydrive user.

Market link

Just the above apps can give you an extra 38GB of storage space. What other ways do you use to gain extra storage space for your mobile device?

Related Posts:

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If you are looking to access your Skydrive account from your desktop, Gladinet is the application for you.

Gladinet Cloud Desktop is an application that allows you to mount cloud storage services as local folders and integrates online applications with the local desktop. It supports services such as Amazon S3,  Google docs, Picasa, Adrive, and of course Skydrive.

Download Gladinet Starter edition (FREE)

Start the installer. At the end of the installation, it will prompt you to do some initial configuration.

Select a drive letter for Gladinet to mount to. Make sure that the drive letter does not conflict with any existing drive. Click OK to continue.

In the next window, click on the Mount Disk Storage

Under the service provider, select Windows Live Skydrive from the dropdown bar. Of course, if you are using other storage services, you can also configure them the same way here.

Enter your login credential.

You can now access your Skydrive right from the desktop.

The advantage of using Gladinet is that it mount the online storage as a network drive in your system (and it does not do a sync), so even if you computer has less than 25GB of space, you can still mount it and access all your data (you will need an Internet connection though). In addition, the ability to mount several online storage services mean that you won’t ever face the problem of insufficient storage space again.

Gladinet comes with a Starter edition (free), Professional edition ($29.99) and a Premium edition that is due to be released soon. Personally, I have found that the Starter edition contains features more than I ever need and is sufficient for me. However, if you require more features, you can always upgrade to the Professional edition easily.

What other ways do you use to access Windows Live Skydrive?

Related Posts:

• How to Claim 25GB of SkyDrive Storage Space While It Lasts
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