We get all giddy over here at GigaOM when it comes to storage and backup products, so it’s worth noting that today a service called Syncplicity launches in public beta. What’s nice about the service is it offers both storage and backup as well as automatic syncing across PCs. What makes it better than most is its ability to sync offline documents.
Right now, the bridging feature that syncs your offline work when you get online is only available for Google Docs/Word files and Facebook photos. However, Leonard Chung, co-founder of the service, says more offline syncing options will come soon. So will a Mac product. Because my PC is wonky at the moment (hey, it’s four years old,) I didn’t get a chance to try out the software, but if you guys do, please leave us a note in the comments section with your thoughts.
Initially the service is free, but Syncplicity plans to charge somewhere around $20 a month for unlimited storage and access. When compared to a backup service like Carbonite, which charges $50 a year, that seems pricey, but it does offer the syncing, backup and offline access all in one package. The company is using a combination of their own servers hosted by Rackspace and Amazon Web Services to support Syncplicity.
More GigaOM backup and syncing reviews are here:
- SugarSynch and Capzules
- FolderShare vs. Dropbox
- Drop it Like it’s Dropbox
- For Mac Users Some Backup Option
And for reviews from Web Worker Daily see here:
One might think that access to the relevant computers would be a reasonable business expense.
Hi — Leonard from the Syncplicity team here. We’ve had a ton of requests today to create a quick video to give an overview of what Syncplicity is about. We’ve got it up now: http://www.syncplicity.com/Video/
Enjoy!
Leonard Chung
tacky dropbox ripoff anyone…?
How is this better than live mesh (www.mesh.com)?
Been playing with this for a week. The backround sync is slow (15 gb took >3 days, running in background and overnight (getting all the CPU cycles it can), but once up and running seemed stable and useful. Its interface and speed stomp x-drive, and it keeps a lot of stuff current. It’s pretty handy so far. $20 a month is a bit steep until the user interface improves and uploads are quicker, but speed seems only to be a factor in dealing with the initial set up of a directory structure that is already mirrored on another machine (my office desktop, in my case). Your mileage will vary, of course.
yeah, i also found the sync process pretty slow.