DropBox – Access your files from iPhone and Ipad
By rileyrd on Jun 09, 2010 with Comments 0
Ok you have the brand new Apple MacBook, iPhone, or iPad and you want to be able to move data between all of your devices, enter DropBox. This cloud-based file syncing service is available at www.dropbox.com. Dropbox is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. I have used Dropbox for over 2 years to transfer files between my Windows and Mac computers. With the introduction of the iPhone and iPad apps for Dropbox, you can now access and manage your Dropbox from your mobile devices.
Background
As described earlier, Dropbox creates a special folder on your Mac, Windows, or Linux machine. Any files that are copied to this folder are automatically synced to the cloud. Subfolders are also supported to allow organization of your Dropbox. There are three levels of access based on the amount of space needed. A free version with 2GB space is available and should be enough for most users. For those needing more space you can get 50GB for $9.99/month or 100GB for $19.99/month.
Examples of Dropbox running on Mac, Windows, and the Dropbox web client are shown below:
Click to Enlarge
Dropbox for Mac
Dropbox for Windows
Dropbox web application
Dropbox for iPhone
When first starting the application, the user is presented the option to choose if they are already a Dropbox user or not. If you already have an account, you are sent to the login screen to enter your credentials.
Dropbox initial screen
Dropbox Login
Once signed in, the user’s dropbox is displayed. Users have the ability to search their Dropbox. If a folder contains photos or images, Dropbox will display the images in a grid of pictures. Selecting an individual photo will display the individual photo.
Dropbox comes complete with the ability to view documents by selecting individual documents including, PDF and office documents.
Clicking the link symbol in the bottom left allows a user to email or copy links to the document. The file must be shared be in a shared folder to use this feature.
One of the best features of Dropbox on the iPhone is the ability to either take a new photo or add an existing photo by clicking the Plus key on the top of the screen. This feature is especially useful for capturing screenshots of the iPhone and then adding them to your Dropbox.
For those documents that you always want handy, you can mark them as a favorite. These documents are downloaded into the application and will be available off-line. Note that using this feature will use up memory on you iPhone, but will allow you access to your documents at all times.
Dropbox for iPad
The big brother to the iPhone application is the iPad version of Dropbox. It contains the same functions as the iPhone version plus a few extra. The application takes advantage of the iPad’s screen real estate to provider easier viewing of documents and photos. You can mark documents as favorites and send links. One extra feature present in the iPad version gives the ability to open a document from a list of installed applications on the Ipad. However, you can not save documents back to the Dropbox. A big shortcoming of the iPad in my book.
See the below images for examples of Dropbox on the iPad.
Conclusion
I consider Dropbox an essential utility for those us who need to work across platforms. It makes moving files between Windows and Mac quick and seamless. With the introduction of Dropbox on the iPhone and iPad, I can now have access to my important documents while on the go. The favorites function allows me access to documents even while offline. The only real negative is the inability to save documents on the iPad back to your Dropbox. If Apple will allow this function in the future, Dropbox will truly be a killer application. So go give Dropbox a try. It’s free and you will quickly wonder why you have not been using it.
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