ZumoDrive review: backup and syncing online

Posted by Mac² on 29/12/2009

[Nota: Entrada em inglês porque não estou com pachorra de re-escrever em português o que já coloquei no fórum do Scrivener.]

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Three of the frustrations I’ve been having with the wonderful DropBox are (1) no syncing of folders outside the DropBox folder, (2) no backup of files/folder (besides the syncing scope) and (3) minimum latitude on the plans/pricing options (free, 50GBs for 10$/month, 100GBs for 20$/month).

Having these problems in mind I decided to try ZumoDrive (which I found totally by accident when I spotted its app for iPod Touch in the App Store). So far I’m stunned with the features; in fact they might make me move away from my strange system of “DropBox (free) + Mozy (free) + SugarSync (10GBs; c. 4$/month)”.

Here are the Pros:

(1) Nice interface. ZumoDrive acts as an external drive (like MobileMe) under Devices in Finder. It also has a menubar that gives info on its behaviour and a Console (app) that informs you on settings, uploads, etc.

(2) Fast upload.

(3) CPU usage is low. No noise on my MBP… I don’t hear any fans like I do with SugarSync or, sometimes, with DropBox.

(4) Allows syncing of any folder in my computer (unlike DropBox).

(5) It backs up files/folders as well; i.e. you can upload stuff to the “cloud” and not keep it in your computer (unlike DropBox).

(6) Downloads are quite fast and easy as well. The Scrivener projects are downloaded as a .zip file that unpacks perfectly (so far as I can tell).

(7) Cool iPod Touch app.

(8) Easy sharing options.

(9) Cool website server options: includes a picture viewer and music listening (note: I have not tested the music feature yet).

(10) Allows installing of the same account in different computers (unlike Mozy).

(11) More pricing options: 1+1GB for free; 10 GBs for 3$/month; 25 GBs for 7$/month; etc.

The Cons:

(1) The trial mode starts with only 1GB for free. One can get 1GB extra after following some steps. Initially I found this process of 1+1GB a little annoying, however the so called steps (they name it Dojo) have helped me learning how to use ZumoDrive.

(2) It’s kind of embarrassing, but so far I’ve seen no more problems. I’m sure there are some limits, but I have not felt them.

Final notes:

I’m still going to further test ZumoDrive before committing myself, most specially by uploading/download complex DEVONthink files and by checking how openmeta tags behave after being on the ZumoDrive server. I’ll update this review if something interesting pops-up.