SugarSync (for iPad)

File synchronization software has saved my hide more times than I can count. I never worry any more about whether I have access to the files I need when I'm out of the office or need to skip town for a few days. No more toting around laptops or uploading and downloading files from USB keys. All my work is backed up and made accessible with SugarSync (free for 5GB), including through the SugarSync iPad app (free).

SugarSync, a PCMag Editors' Choice product, is a cloud-based, file syncing program and service, similar to Dropbox (also an Editors' Choice). You use SugarSync to sync files to the cloud, so that you can access, edit, or share them from the SugarSync website or any SugarSync app. The app selection for SugarSync is sweet indeed, with versions for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian. A Linux client is in beta. The SugarSync iPad app (free) is the focus of the review here, and it's a worthy app to have, although at times I wish it had one signature feature found in Google Drive (formerly Google Docs): the ability to edit documents. Let me clarify that you can only edit documents with Google Drive on an iPad if you access the service via Safari or open your documents in another app, so it's not supported directly in the Google Drive app. Still, editing is a key feature that attracts my attention, and it's a big reason Google Drive is also an Editors' Choice.

The Competition
While I still adore both Google Drive and Dropbox, and will emphasize that they're worthy of our Editors' Choice award, SugarSync does a few things slightly differently that I like, too. SugarSync is extremely simple to use, and it preserves your folder structure?no need to move files into a special folder, as Dropbox has you do during setup. SugarSync also gives you more space with a free account (5GB compared to Dropbox's 2GB) and unlimited bonus space for referrals. Google Drive is comparatively new to the syncing scene and thus still something of a work in progress. On the iPad, it's not as easy to see the source of your files, although it has a great search tool, which SugarSync lacks.

That said, let me be the first to admit that I use all three services mentioned above, but I use each one for different types of documents. I keep my work files in SugarSync, my home computer files (photos, personal documents) in Dropbox, and household files that I collaborate on with my family in Google Drive. . Who says you have to choose just one?

Features
SugarSync's iPad app is free to download, but you do need a SugarSync account to use it. The first 5GB of any account are free, but you can upgrade to 30GB for $49.99 per year, 60GB for $99.99 per year, or 100GB for $149.99 per year (monthly payments are also available, see the pricing page).

The graphical opening page is the first indication that SugarSync's iPad app is easy to use. All the icons and names you've given to your synced devices appear along the left side. See the slideshow for an example. Tap on any of the icons, and SugarSync will pull up a list of the folders and files that devices houses. You'll also see buttons for Photos, Recent Documents, Magic Briefcase, and a few others.

Say you're away from the office but need to quickly reference a spreadsheet that you (wisely) set to sync with SugarSync. From your iPad, you can navigate to the file, view it, share it via email, sync it to your iPad, rename it, copy it, or move it. You can't edit it on the spot, however, as I mentioned previously.

You can apply all the actions supported in the iPad app to batches of files, making light work of otherwise heavy lifting.

The Recent Documents button proves useful for me. It shows documents that SugarSync has identified as being recently created, or changed and synced. For day-to-day work files, this area is great for quick access to files you're likely to need the most.

Photo syncing on SugarSync for iPhone is a little less intuitive than the rest of the app, and it can become very complicated quickly, especially if you use other photo-syncing services, such as iCloud. I had a hard time figuring out where photos lived after landing on the Photos area. It's just not clear where or how they're stored.

One missing feature is a search tool, a critical omission that easily knocks this otherwise stellar app down to its four-star rating. The difficulty I had with photos would disappear almost entirely if I had a search tool at the ready.

Security
SugarSync provides decent security, encrypting your data while at rest and while in transmission. The iPad app adds another layer of security as well in the form of an optional four-digit PIN. For anyone using SugarSync to sync data that could be considered sensitive or personal, this extra protection definitely helps to make you feel more secure and keep out malfeasants.

Syncing Made Simple
If you use SugarSync and have an iPad, you'll definitely want to download the SugarSync iPad app so that you can get at your files quickly and from virtually anywhere, although you may lament the lack of a search tool. SugarSync remains a great file-syncing choice for anyone who wants simple setup, a preserved folder structure, and intelligent interface on the mobile apps. Sugar Sync is an Editors' Choice for file-syncing on the iPad.

Seeing as SugarSync and its strongest competitors are free, there's no reason you can't have them all. You might use them as I do to store files of different types or for different purposes.

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