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Showing posts with label icloud. Show all posts
Showing posts with label icloud. Show all posts

How To Sync Any Files To Your Smartphone Or Tablet Without The Cloud

synchroniser any folder on your computer directly to your Android device — not a cloud you need to download from later. BitTorrent Sync‘s mobile app makes this easy.

Dropbox, SkyDrive, Google Drive, iCloud: all services designed to keep your various devices in sync — and all of them store your data on their server instead of your mobile device. Whether you’re tired of storage restrictions, concerned about where your data is being stored, or just want all of your files to work offline, BitTorrent Sync offers a direct wireless sync between your computer and your mobile device.
Sure, there are hacks that let you sync your entire Dropbox with Android, but with BitTorrent Sync, the process is easy: just set up the app and your files will sync whenever both your computer and your mobile device are on. Concerned about bandwidth? There’s a WiFi-only setting. Let’s go over how this works.

Download It

BitTorrent Sync is available for Android, Windows Phone, iPhone and iPad, and Amazon Fire devices.
Download the mobile app, install it, and you’re good to go.

Get To Your Files Directly

Start up Sync and you’ll see the folders you’ve set up.

bittorrent sync main   How To Sync Any Files To Your Smartphone Or Tablet Without The Cloud

Note that, by default, your files will not sync; instead, you can download them from your other devices on-demand. To change this you need only enable Auto-sync:

bittorent sync autosync   How To Sync Any Files To Your Smartphone Or Tablet Without The Cloud

You can browse your files easily within the app itself.

bittorrent sync browsing files   How To Sync Any Files To Your Smartphone Or Tablet Without The Cloud

The checkbox at right means the files are already synced — you can open them from here. If you’re on Android, you’ll also be able to browse your files using your device’s file manager.
This is an easy way to get files from your computer onto your phone, and vice-versa. There’s even a “Camera Upload” option if you want every photo you take on your mobile device to sync to your desktop computer.

But before you can do any of this, you need to set up a sync. This was once the hard part of using BitTorrent Sync, but the process has gotten easier.

Setting Up A Folder To Sync

A few years ago we pointed out how BitTorrent Sync makes it easy to sync files between computers. You can read that article for an overview, but basically you need to pick a folder to sync and copy a long string of numbers — called a secret — for use on the other computer.

Don’t worry: it’s easier than all that now. Go ahead and download BitTorrent Sync for your desktop computer. Set up a folder to sync, then click the “Share” button. You’ll see the option for a QR code:

bittorrent sync android qr code   How To Sync Any Files To Your Smartphone Or Tablet Without The Cloud

Now, with the app on your mobile device, you can scan the code with your favorite QR code scanner app.

bittorrent sync scan code   How To Sync Any Files To Your Smartphone Or Tablet Without The Cloud
Just like that, you’ve set up your sync. Do this for every folder you want, but be careful: your mobile device only has so much space. Don’t fill it up!

What Will You Sync To Your Phone?

It’s nice to have the flexibility to sync whatever you want to your phone, but what are the potential uses? Well, you could:
  • Sync your most important work documents, so that you always have them with you.
  • Sync your ebook or comic book collection, so that you can access it on the go.
  • Sync your entire music collection to your phone or tablet (if you’ve got enough space!).
Personally, I’m using this to get all of my favourite podcasts onto my tablet. What about you? Let me know what you’d like to sync between your devices in the comments below.
Oh, and if you’d like an always-on device to sync to when your computer’s not on, you could install BitTorrent Sync to a NAS — there’s a version for most vendors. If that sounds too pricey, we’ve shown you how to build your own cloud storage service by setting up a Raspberry Pi with Bittorrent Sync. Give it a shot!

How to get the most free online storage

Editors' Note: This article was originally published April 24, 2012, and has been updated to reflect current offerings.
If 2014 isn't known as the year of wearables, it could be known as the year of cloud storage. Between updates to Google Drive and Dropbox, and revamped offerings from Apple's iCloud Drive, Amazon's Cloud Drive and Microsoft's OneDrive, access to cloud storage is now easier and cheaper than ever before.
Even with the cost of storage continuing to decline, free storage is something that's hard to pass up. Let's take a look at how to get free space from your favorite storage providers. If you want to upgrade to more than just the allotted free space, check out Sarah Mitroff's in-depth comparison of the big four cloud storage services.

iCloud Drive

First, let's get the service that doesn't offer any additional storage sans payment outside of the initial allotment: iCloud Drive. Apple gives iCloud users 5GB of free data, but anything beyond that you're going to have to pay for. You can view the monthly storage plans, which range for $0.99 to $19.99 per month here.

OneDrive

Microsoft's OneDrive service is free for the first 15GB of storage space, with opportunities to earn an extra 8GB by backing up your photos using the mobile app (worth 3GB), and inviting friends to sign up for the service. For each friend that signs up, you'll get 500MB of storage (with a max of 10 friends for a total of 5GB).
While the total allotment of free OneDrive storage caps out at 23GB, paid Office 365 subscribers can take advantage of unlimited storage once the new allotment is completely rolled out.
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Amazon Cloud Drive promotion for Prime members. Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET

Amazon Cloud Drive

Amazon's Cloud Drive service remains free for basic users, with a base of 5GB free storage space. However, Amazon Prime members are able take advantage of one important upgrade - unlimited, free photo storage. Technically it's not free since it requires a Prime membership, but as yet another perk added to the service, one can get away with considering it a freebie.
Regular files, including music and videos, are still restricted to the 5GB of space.

Box

Box offers 10GB of free storage with for its basic personal accounts. You can, however, earn free storage by installing its app on specific devices. As of May 2014, the list of eligible devices can be found here.
Some more notable devices found on the list include Sony Xperia, LG phones and tablets, HP Windows PCs, Dell and Samsung ATIV tabs.
The amount of free storage unlocked varies based on the device and you use to sign into your Box account.

Google Drive

Google Drive users are treated to 15GB of free storage space. The space is used in combination with the attached Gmail account, which can be problematic for those with a large email database.
In lieu of paying for additional storage, you can unlock an extra 100GB of free space by signing into your Google account on a Chrome OS device and visiting this link. The added storage, unfortunately, has an expiration date of two years.
Google also has offers granting users of select Motorola, HTC and Kensington devices more storage. You'll need to visit this page and select your device type to learn more about added storage and the redemption process.

Dropbox


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Dropbox storage options, both paid and free. Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
Lastly is Dropbox, arguably the leader in promotions for free storage. By now you likely already know about the free 2GB of storage included with each account. And you likely already know you'll need to complete the getting started guide to unlock more space. Referrals are also an easy way to earn more space, along with connecting your Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Another method is to use Dropbox's Carousel app to backup your photos. By installing the app and setting up the app, Dropbox will grant you 3GB of extra space. You don't actually have to use the app, unless, of course, you want to.

Mailbox is another Dropbox app that offers free storage in exchange for using it. Link your Dropbox account to the Mailbox app and bam, 1GB of data is automatically added.
It looks like HTC Android users using a device running Sense 5.0 can sign into the Dropbox app and earn 23GB of free storage through the end of 2014.

Samsung device owners have the ability to earn 48GB of extra storage, depending on your device type and when you logged into the Dropbox app. Be sure to read the fine print, which outlines how long the data is good for (one or two years).

It's likely more promotions than what I've listed here are available for these services as well as others. If you have any tips to earning free storage space on any service, be sure to share it below in the comments