I love Box.net — the online file storage system that makes it easy to store and share files with other users quickly and easily. A couple of years ago, TUAW wrote up how to use Box.net as an iDisk (and this still works), but now the Box team has made it even easier to access your files while on the go, with the new Box.net iPhone app.
The app, which is compatible with the iPhone and the second generation iPod Touch (sorry 1st Gen touch users!), is simply awesome. Box.net already had an iPhone friendly mobile interface at i.box.net, but while you could access some files from that page, you couldn’t play back media and document viewing was more limited. The new application means you can play back audio and video (assuming the file is compatible with the iPhone 2.1’s firmware support for QuickTime), view PDF or Office files, view photos, and upload photos from your iPhone or iPod Touch directly to Box.net.
Even nicer, the Box.net app integrates directly with your address book, so you can share a folder or individual document with a contact, just by clicking the “Share” button and selecting the contact from the address book. The application also notifies you of any updates or changes made to your box, which is great for individuals who collaborate with other users using a Box.net account.
I have a free Box.net account (which limits me to 1 GB of storage space and puts a 25 MB cap on file sizes), but I was able to access all my files and documents with ease. On my iPod Touch, Box.net loaded PDF files faster than some other tools I have used for PDF viewing, though I did find that network activity did impact overall speed. When the bridged router I use with my non-802.11n devices was in heavy use, it could take quite some time to load a large PDF. When the G router was idle, load time was almost non-existent, even for 8 or 9 MB files.
I don’t have an iPhone, so I cannot vouch for EDGE or 3G speeds — but over WiFi, speed was solid.
The interface of this app, as you can see from the gallery, is just superb. It perfectly matches both the Box.net website and the iPhone user interface guidelines. Maneuvering through files was a cinch and I love the integration with the address book for sharing files or folders. Being able to upload photos directly to Box.net is also pretty great.
If there was anything that could be on my wishlist, it would be the ability to upload other types of tiles to Box.net as well. Of course, you can always e-mail uploads to Box.net, so this isn’t an absolute necessity.
Box.net is free and available from the App Store now.
Box.net and its free iPhone application aim to bring your documents to your iPhone.
An online file-sharing and storage service, Box.net offers five different storage plans ranging from a free 1GB plan for consumers all the way up to a 15GB “Enterprise” plan that costs $15 per month. The free Box.net iPhone offering supports all plans. After you sign up for a Box.net account and download the iPhone app, you’ll want to start loading files onto the Box.net servers.
To upload files to Box.net, you’ll need to use the Box.net Web site. The iPhone app supports viewing all file types but only supports uploading photos at this time. Box.net on the iPhone and iPod touch supports most major file types, displays documents, and plays MP3s and MP4 videos in a horizontal window similar to the iPhone’s YouTube app. While the program uses landscape mode for videos, it does not support viewing photos in landscape mode.
In addition to supporting uploaded documents, Box.net also supports documents created in the rudimentary word processor found on the Box.net Web site. While this may seem like a convenience, the Box.net iPhone app does not resize these documents for easy viewing in the same way it does for uploaded documents. This is a puzzling omission from an otherwise solid offering, although most users are likely to upload existing documents with formatting rather than create them on Box.net.
Box.net’s iPhone client lets users of the online storage service easily access their files while on the go. It’s a convenient option for iPhone and iPod touch owners with remote storage needs.