Drop it at Drop.io and Much More

While researching some other web technology today I kept running across mentions of Drop.io Now, I actually came across Drop.io about a month ago. I took a peek at it and set it aside for later. ….and then I forgot about it.

Well, now that I’ve come across it again I thought i’d take some extra time to really see what can be done with it and what they have to offer. I have to say that thus far I’m really impressed. It’s simple, it’s easy, and it works…really well.

The first thing you’re going to notice (since it’s the entire point of drop.io) is the file storage/sharing capabilities. It’s simple, name your drop, upload your files, pick your settings (super simple) …and drop it!

They don’t ask for an email, you don’t have to go through any sign-up, and it’s fast. Once you choose your drop name and drop it, you go right into the drop (account). As the front page will tell you, you’ll see in your drop that you can do so much more than upload and download files.

Drop.io sets you up with an email address that you can send notes and files to, a voice mail number, the capability to setup a conference call and faxing. So here’s a breakdown:

• Email Address: You can send text for a note or attachments to upload files
• Voicemail: Simple, call your voice mail number, punch in the extension, and leave yourself a message. It will save the message as an mp3 in your drop that you can listen to, share, etc.
• Conference Call: I haven’t tried this one but you have a number setup as your conference call line.
• Receive a fax: You can have people send you faxes, which show up in your drop. They have to print out a cover letter with a special section at the bottom but thats a minor inconvenience.
• Send a fax: I really like this feature. You can easily just send a fax from a .pdf or .doc to anyone in the US.

So thats the gist of the list of features. There are a couple other minor ones like adding links, notes, etc. The last two things I want to mention are premium and widget.

You only get 100MB for free. I know that is not nearly enough for getting some of the files I handle moved around but thankfully you can upgrade the service to 1GB for $10. That also upgrades the drop life to last 1 year. The point of Drop.io isn’t long term storage or large storage, it’s a quick “drop” space but I have a feeling it will turn into much more than that. One thing they don’t mention anywhere except on the “Custom” page is you can purchase more space.

Now about the widget! I don’t like having to go to the drop site every time I want to upload a file. I don’t like having to tell person after person the drop address either. Thats where the widget comes in. Just get the code snipet for your widget and put it in your site.

You can even customize the widget a little bit (assuming you know a little html and css) which is easy. The image above is an example (the View Drop button was added). You can also have the look customized by Drop.io

So there ya have it! Quite a useful site, even for those old faxing goobers out there. This is definitely something aiding the fight against stupid!