LiveDrive

LiveDrive

There is no shortage of cloud storage services today. You can find a number of services that cater to every segment of the target audience- from individuals who want to back up their personal data to businesses that want to collaborate and share data easily. LiveDrive is one of the more popular cloud storage services available, but what exactly makes this service click among its customers? Let’s take a detailed look at LiveDrive and what it offers:

Pricing

LiveDrive offers 4 pricing models that you can choose from. Here are some of their basic details:

• Backup: Unlimited backup of data, at $7.95 per month
• Briefcase: Unlimited data backup, online storage space of 2TB, at $15.95 per month
• Pro Suite: Unlimited data backup, online storage space of 5TB, at $24.95 per month
• Business: Unlimited data backup, sharing and collaborating files, administrator control, at $49.95 per month

Free trial

You have the option of trying out any of the above pricing systems and their features for 14 days for free. There are no hidden charges or obligations, and your credit card or account information would not be required.

Desktop software

In order to use LiveDrive, you need to download its desktop client software. Once you have downloaded and installed the software, you would have a virtual drive designated as ‘L:’ where you can directly save your information. You can also drag and drop software directly onto the drive. If you need to access data on your LiveDrive from other PCs, you need to install the desktop software on those computers as well.

Maximum file retention

As a backup storage service, LiveDrive offers versioning of files. It also has an unlimited period of file retention, so that the data can be restored whenever required.

Multiple platform support with web interface

You can also access your files and share them with others with the help of a personalised web portal interface. You can make files public, which means they can be shared with everyone. Alternatively, you could also password protect your personal files to restrict access to them. All these features and much more are available as a web interface which can be accessed with any standard web browser on any computer or device. A new iOS and Android app extends the platform support of LiveDrive even further.

Automatic file synchronisation with other computers

The feature of file syncing with other PCs is only available in the Briefcase option. In order to use this feature, you need to install the desktop client on the PC. Once you have installed the client and added the required files, they will be synchronised with other PCs that have access to them. You can also see changes in the name of PC. Automatic file sync makes it very easy for everyone with access to LiveDrive files to have the most up to date files handy.

Create and edit office documents

With LiveDrive, you also have the ability to view and edit Microsoft Office documents from a PC even if it does not have the Office software. This can be done with the website interface of LiveDrive, which has integrated apps that allow you to view and edit Excel, PowerPoint and Word documents.

Drag and Drop

The drag and drop feature is also a part of the web interface of LiveDrive. The interface uses Java to create a box where you can drop all the files you want to add quickly.

File sharing

LiveDrive allows you to share files through the Internet by going to the desired file and choosing the ‘share’ option. You can share files publically or with only a specified person or group of people. The person who you want to share files with would be emailed a link which allows them to access those files. You can share a large number of files without having to send any emails manually or worrying about sending limits.

Integrated media player

LiveDrive also has a feature for those of you who want to share or backup personal information. The web interface includes a music player at the bottom which allows you to listen to music or watch videos. You can do this on any device without having to download any other software.

File version tracking

Another feature of LiveDrive is that it keeps track of the history of all files on the account. If required, you can go back to the older version of the file, after which other linked computers would also sync with that version.

Integration with Facebook, YouTube and other similar social media websites

You have the option of downloading a Facebook plug-in that allows you to share files directly to your Facebook account. You can also save files and data directly from your Facebook account to your LiveDrive account with the drag and drop feature. Another YouTube plug-in allows you to integrate your LiveDrive account with YouTube as well. LiveDrive is planning to release more plug-ins that lets you integrate your account with other social media websites.

Verdict

In spite of the features and well-priced tiered plans offered by LiveDrive along with their free trials, there are still some flaws in the service. Customer service is not up to the mark, and backups are also unstable and often cause problems. To top it all, security is also a concern. A lot of experts and users are very sceptical about the security claims of LiveDrive. As a complete package, LiveDrive is worth a glance, but there are other better service providers available.

LiveDrive can be downloaded here