Will iCloud replace DropBox in your iDevices?

Will iCloud replace DropBox in your iDevices?:

With the iOS5 update on the iPhone came the iCloud feature, a cloud-based storage for syncing files from your phone and PC. It definitely competed with the popular DropBox service that’s been around for years.

In fact Steve Jobs himself talked with the owners of DropBox years ago for a possible acquisition (for a rumored $800 million).

iCloud is now an integral part of iOS5 and works really great within the iOS/OSX environment. You get automatic backups in the background for many of the essential iOS services and media.

That includes all the apps, photos, documents, notes, bookmarks, reminder, calendars, contacts and downloaded mails.

Apple gives you 5GB of free iCloud storage that allows for multiple devices (I’ve got my iPhone 4, iPad2 and iPod Touch 4G already consuming 3GB of my iCloud storage). You can buy more storage for $20/10GB, $40/20GB and $100/50GB per year on top of your free allocation.

On the other hand, DropBox is pretty simple. It’s an app that resides in your phone or tablet. On the PC, it acts like a folder where you drag and drop items to be synced to the cloud. Pretty simple, easy to use and allows you to pick whatever files to upload and share.

Dropbox starts you off with a free 2GB storage and you earn 250MB per person you refer. Maximum free storage is up to 8GB. You can upgrade to 50GB for $9.99 per month or 100GB for 19.99 per month.

The biggest advantage for Dropbox is that it’s available on so many platforms — iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows, Linux, etc.

Both service overlaps but also complements each other. If you’re 100% within the Apple garden, iCloud is the best and most seamless solution. If you use multiple platforms, DropBox still rules.