Dropbox, the online back-up service, is expanding its sync feature to a wider range of programs, settings, apps and games.
Dropbox on personal computers, smartphones and tablets allows users to sync chosen files and folders and makes them accessible across different platforms and devices. A picture taken on a smartphone or a tablet can be viewed on a computer instantly or a document created on computer can be accessed on a tablet.
The Dropbox facilitates access to all synced files and folders on the go and now the company has taken the next step ahead in showing off its broader ambitions. Users can now sync games, email apps, settings and other programs with a new tool, Datastore API, launched at DBX's conference in San Francisco for developers, Tuesday. Datastore API also allows access to all files and folders once synced up to date even when offline.
"Imagine a task-tracking app that works on both your iPhone and the web," the company explains in its Blog. "If it's built with the Datastore API, you can check off items from your phone during a cross-country flight and add new tasks from your computer and Dropbox will make sure the changes don't clobber each other."
With the new Datastore API, a gaming state once synced on a Dropbox hard drive can be accessed from a different device and resumed from the same level. The online backup storage company also launched a range of new API products including Drop-ins-Chooser and Saver.
Drop-ins API makes it easier for developers to integrate Dropbox allowing users to include data into their web and mobile apps. The Chooser gives users quick access to their Dropbox files from web and mobile apps, while the Saver instantly saves files to Dropbox. This allows users direct access to files without saving on to their hard drives. For example, this feature on e-mail will let users share files by attaching them directly from Dropbox. The feature is already integrated into Yahoo! Mail, Shutterstock and Mailbox, an email app, which it acquired in March.
Dropbox offers a free storage of up to 2GB and additional storage by paying as little as $9.99/month for 50-60GB. For Samsung smartphones and tablets, the company offers 50GB of free storage for two years. Dropbox noted that more than 175 million people use their online storage facility, up from 100 million in November, to sync over a billion files every day.
