For those who want to use, sync and share files on the go, Syncplicity has a new app for that. The company today announced availability of Syncplicity for Android, which follows a similar app for iPhone and iPad.
Tops on the to-do list when developing the app was to structure it such that users aren't required to use a lot of bandwidth while, for example, downloading massive files on a mobile device, according to Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Schultz. As files are accessed, they become available offline via encrypted caching, so mobile users aren't constantly tapping the network.
Conceptually, Syncplicity is similar to Dropbox, allowing people to access files, documents and photos in the cloud. However, rather than dropping them into a Dropbox, Syncplicity users save the document and it's automatically synced to the cloud; there's no need to remember to move it to the Dropbox before deciding to share it while out on the road. "What we're finding is mobile is a huge area for us," he says.
Shared documents are displayed on whatever viewer is on the device, and there's no need to access a corporate VPN. It also stores each version of a document after it's saved, so users can access files that are seconds or days old. There's a news feed, so as files are updated, users can see what their colleagues are doing.
A differentiator for Syncplicity, Schultz.says, is the convenience for IT teams. Administrators and IT professionals can set file management and user policies to secure and monitor corporate data and remote wipe devices if needed.
There's fairly tight integration with Google Docs, too. A significant part of its customer base comes from people using Syncplicity with Google Docs.
One of the big appeals for a small business that wants to share files is it doesn't need to set up a file server to do it. The company is seeing a lot of interest from vertical industries for that very reason; it's also appealing to, for example, groups of business students who are working together on a project and need to share docs.
The company is watching how Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 plays out, as well as considering a BlackBerry version, but for now, it's seeing a lot of excitement and feedback among Android users with this latest beta release.
The native Android 2.x app is free in the Android Market. Existing Syncplicity users can log in to their account with their current credentials and download the app for free. There's also a free 30-day business edition trial account available, as well as a personal account option.
The majority of features available on Android also are available for iPhone/iPad, with the exception of cached files offline, which works on Android but not for the iOS devices.