Box.net, an online data storage service, is offering 50GB of free online storage for iOS users in an effort to compete against iCloud. If you sign up using your iOS device before December 2nd, you'll get the 50GB account for free.
Box also gave out free 50GB accounts to all owners of HP TouchPad webOS tablets. I found it to be a bit cumbersome to use. It doesn't sync files like Dropbox or Sugarsync and it is a pain to upload files. However, 50GB of free online storage is pretty cool.
My favorite backup and sync services are:
Dropbox is a service that allows you to sync your files on your computer with their system as a backup. This also allows you to access the files anywhere. You can also sync the files across multiple computers. This means that you have automatic backup of your files and 24/7 access to your files. There are apps for iOS, Android, webOS and Blackberry. You can even share files and folders with others.
SugarSync - Sugarsync is another powerful sync and backup service. You can have it back up your files on their server, and sync the files among multiple computers. You get 5GB for free and there are fee based plans with more storage. You can access your files through any web browser and there are mobile apps and a mobile site.
The Websync feature is also nice. If you are accessing your files through the website, you can select "Edit with websync" and a Java program will download a temp copy of your file, allow you to edit and save it and then upload the new version. You can also share files with others through email or the web.
Zumo Drive - is another sync and sharing service with similar features to Sugarsync and Dropbox. I use this also. A great feature is being able to stream music from Zumo Drive to your mobile device. There is a free 2GB version. Zumo Drive actually works and looks like another drive on your computer.
Google Docs - you can upload any type of file (up to 250MB each) and you get 1GB of storage free. You can purchase additional storage at $0.25/GB/year, which is a good deal. There is no automatic sync built in. There are some 3rd party applications that you can use (like GDocBackup, which I use.) It doesn't sync to your desktop or backup automatically, but it is still very useful.
Amazon has officially announced their Cloud Drive this week. Amazon Cloud Drive is Amazon's version of online file storage. It comes with 5GB of free storage and you can upgrade to 20GB of storage by purchasing an Amazon MP3 album. There are also other levels of storage that you can pay for (up to 1000GB for $1000/yr).
The service does not mention anything about file syncing, just that you upload your files to their servers and then you can access the files from any computer. You can upload documents, musics, photos and video and download and preview them from any computer.
You can stream your music files from the service and any music you purchase from Amazon are stored on the Cloud Drive for free and don't affect your storage capacity.
How do you backup, sync, and store your data?
