Could 'Copy' Dropkick Dropbox Out Of The Lead??

If you've used Dropbox, then you're probably going to love Copy! Ultimately, it's an almost identical product, but with a few features that will have you ready to switch by half way through this article. I like to think of them as Space, Interface and Sharing, even though Sharing doesn't rhyme. As far as online storage and backup goes, Copy seems to have raised the bar in many areas, and I'm excited to see where it goes from here.

If you haven't used Dropbox or any of the other competitors out there for storage and backup, they are a great way to simplify the transfer of files between coworkers and an amazing tool for ensuring that certain files are always accessible to you no matter where you are. Here's an overall run through of how these systems work.

1. You are given a certain amount of space on their servers, on which you can have your files stored and synced with multiple computers.
2. You have a folder on your computer that is automatically synced with the online space, and as you drag files to that folder, they are added to the online space, and to the corresponding folders on all other computers that you are logged in to.
3. You can also create individual folders that can be shared between yourself and another user so that you don't have to be logged in to your account on their computer.
4. You can view, share, and manage these files and folders in the Finder (for Mac, Explorer for PC) or in a web browser, or from a portable device.

Copy is a relatively new product that is currently in it's launching phase still. The best part about that is that they're feeling generous over at the Copy headquarters and they're giving away TONS of free space. They are currently offering 15GB of storage to any new users, with the added bonus of 5GB of storage for any referred clients. This means that you can quickly get to 30GB of free storage with a simple Facebook post spreading their name. You essentially are their marketing, and I like that! In fact, I posted one single post on my Facebook page about switching over to copy and within minutes I was at 65GB of free space because of all of the sign-ups under my referral link.

Like I mentioned earlier, there are 3 main ways in which I find Copy is really leading the way when it comes online storage products.

Space

Copy is giving out comparatively large chunks of online space for new clients, at 15GB with the possibility of quickly adding more at 5GB per referral. This is compared to Dropbox's 2GB free account starting size, with 500MB added for every new referral. This is a pretty straight forward advantage, and may not be completely scalable for Copy as they continue to grow, but that's not really our problem is it? I would suggest jumping on the free account now so you can get the best deal available and help a promising new company get it's legs.

Interface

I am loving Copy's interface on all mediums so far. You will likely use Copy in three ways; Desktop, Website, and Mobile. The iOS app is very intuitive and beautiful, with tons of functionality built right in. Saving images, pdfs, mp4's, and more straight to your device is extremely straight forward and lighting fast. Videos even play right within the program once they are loaded. Something you may want to consider is creating a separate account for your mobile device so you can have a shared folder with your desktop that will only contain things that you want to have accessible on your mobile device. This way you won't fill up space on your iPhone with unwanted documents that you're just storing in your heaps of new online storage.

Here is a quick snapshot of the process for uploading images to the Copy system from your iPhone.

The interface on the website is also equally easy to use and pleasing to the eye. You can do almost every functionally that Copy offers straight from the website interface. One aspect that I've found to be very useful is the way in which Copy sends public links of videos. Often, videos are huge files that you can't add as an attachment to an email to send to someone, but with Copy, you can upload the video and send it with no problems at all. In fact, they can even watch the video right in the email that you sent them. Then will be given a link to either watch or download the video, and the presentation is very professional and sleek. You definitely won't be getting emails from confused users not knowing how to get their video download.

Sharing

This is an interesting point that Copy is marketing as a benefit to using their system over others. They call it "Fair Storage For All", and I think they've hit the nail on the head with this one. What they're basically saying is that the competitors will overcharge you for sharing with other users, while they will divide the space usage between all parties. Watch this video to see their perfect analogy for this system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m36ZMdE-vro&feature=youtu.be

With Fair Storage, you are able to really take advantage of sharing between users while not having to worry about your space dwindling away faster than it should. That is, if you don't have way more space than you need anyways because of all the free space you can get with Copy!

I would highly suggest that you take a second to create an account, after all, it's free! Once you've done that, I also highly suggest you spread the word if this is a product you would like to support. By doing so, you allow others to enjoy the great products you are, you help the company grow in market share, and you get more free space! Win-Win-Win!

Leave a comment below with your thoughts on Copy. I'm sure many people could benefit from hearing how you use online storage systems like this in your every day life and business.