Storage | News

Dropbox Drops Price, Ups Storage

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 09/02/14

Dropbox, the popular free and fee cloud storage service, has introduced a new Pro version that includes a remote wipe feature, enhancements to the sharing of files and a simplified price structure. Dropbox lets the user save files to one device and make it accessible to all other devices. For example, saving a document on the PC will automatically sync it with that user's other computers as well as mobile devices.

The new release of Dropbox Pro includes a function that enables the user to delete Dropbox files from a lost or stolen device while keeping them backed up in the Dropbox cloud service.

It has also boosted Pro storage capacity to a terabyte from 100 gigabytes per month — a tenfold increase.

Other new features include:

• Passwords for links that are shared to increase security;
• The ability to set an expiration date on a shared link; and
• View-only permissions on shared folders that allow others to view files or view and edit them.

The pricing of the Pro version has also undergone revision. The company now makes a terabyte of storage space available for $9.99 a month, which puts it into stronger competition with other services from Google, Apple and Microsoft.

A history professor from the University of Minnesota who said she'd prefer not to be named said she coordinates the sharing of her research with her assistant and students through Dropbox Pro. "When I'm doing research in archives from Germany to the Caribbean, everything I transcribe or photograph goes straight into Dropbox Pro. It lets my research assistant start working on translations immediately, and when I get back to my home office, I have all the files I need waiting for me. I can continue my work uninterrupted."