Dropbox v. iCloud

Fletcher Penny makes a case that iCloud is better and easier for iOS developers.

“It probably took me a couple of hours (if not less) to code the sync routines in my app to work with iCloud … I wrote to a file in a specific folder, and the file is magically updated in all other copies of the app. I just watch that folder for changes, and update my local database when necessary. The OS … I have spent weeks, on the other hand, trying to get Dropbox working properly with various edge cases.”

iCloud is only going to get better. When it hits iWork on the Mac, many people who never dreamed of syncing files will sync files.

Nevertheless, I don’t think Dropbox is under any particular pressure yet. People who are used to syncing documents with folders will continue to do so. Moreover, iCloud’s “single app” approach won’t always work. I think the point is that the pool of users syncing data is going to get much larger.