I’ve been using Dropbox since the service launched and have overall been very happy with it. My only complaint was that if you decide to pay there are only two tiers available: 50 and 100GB. ($99 and $199 a year respectively).
Having tried Ubuntu One when it first came out (when you could only use it on Linux) I was hesitant to try again. Checking out their website I was pleasantly surprised to see that we get 5GB free (compared to DropBox’s 2GB) and that getting 20GB was only $29 a year (or $2.99 a month). However, they still do not have a Windows client!
The first thing I did was install it on my Android phone. After it installed, I opened it and was greeted by a very clean looking interface. Unfortunately that was mostly illusion for as soon as I clicked ‘Log In’ it took me away from the app and opened up the default web browser to one.ubuntu.com
To make it even worse, the browser window just displayed an error of ‘Something has gone wrong’. Three more attempts, each time an error. Attempting to use their website on my laptop showed frequent timeouts at this same time.
Wow… really? That certainly raises a red flag.
After giving up for the night, the next morning I tried again and it worked on the first try.
After authenticating, it gives me the option to upload all past and future photos, all future photos or none.
Much like Photobucket the “auto-upload” does NOT allow you to define directories to grab images from, making the feature next to worthless if you use any apps that download photos to your phone. In fact the only options for the auto-upload are a checkbox to enable/disable and how quickly you want it to start uploading your photos when it detects them.
Pros:
- 5GB of storage (compared to 2GB dropbox)
- Finally has support for other devices
- Cheaper upgrade option (compared to dropbox)
Cons:
- Poorly made app (relies on web browser, doesn’t work half the time…)
- Auto-upload is a tacked on feature with no way to customize
- Unreliable website
- Still no windows client? It’s been 2+ years!
Conclusion
Avoid Ubuntu One.
Unlike Dropbox (which supports every OS I’ve thrown at it) you will be unable to use Ubuntu One while you’re at work/school assuming they run Windows. Same for OSX.
Their Android app is flaky and still needs quite a bit of work. Their website was having difficulties which does not bode well for their infrastructure.
If you have your files “in the cloud” you want to be guaranteed you will be able to access them.
To sum it up: Ubuntu One isn’t worth it, even when you’re using the Free plan.