Cloud has made our lives so easy on many fronts. A secure storage mechanism and robust collaboration options are star attractions of embracing the cloud. What’s disheartening is the fragmentation of services that cloud solutions offer. While Google Drive, Box and Dropbox are big players in the cloud space, they all stand for totally different things.
What one needs to stay productive is a solution that’s a combination of the three. From what I hear, Onehub comes close to what I am looking for. I immediately jumped on the opportunity to take it for a test drive. Care to know about results? Read on!
My Workflow and Expectations
So, this is how I utilize my cloud services. I use Google Drive to compose content and I am heavy user of Google Docs, creating multiple files a day. Dropbox helps me sync my mission critical files that don’t exceed a total of 1 GB. This self imposed limit is to ensure quick sync when I am setting up new devices.
All my useful, but non essential files that I don’t access on a daily basis are stored in Box. Thanks to their generous 50 GB free space promotion for iPhone users and an intuitive interface, I am a big fan of the service. Though not a cumbersome process, it would be fabulous if I could get rid of atleast one app to simplify the workflow. Let’s see if Onehub can help me achieve that.
Getting Started
Onehub has a rather costly pricing structure. Plans start at $29 a month for 5GB of space, which is costlier than many well known cloud storage alternatives. However, given the gamut of offerings promised, I’ll reserve judgment till I evaluate the app.
Pricing Structure
Submitting your credit card information is mandatory to sign up for an account. You won’t be charged until the 14 day free trial expires, but asking for the credit card information is not a standard practice anymore. Why scare away potential customers?
Uploading and Organizing Files
Onehub sports a clean layout. They have opted for labels instead of a bunch of buttons and this design choice is refreshing. There isn’t much to speak about the workflow. If you have used a cloud storage app in the past, you should get used to Onehub in no time at all. If in doubt, the walkthrough wizard is always there at your disposal.
Organizing Files and Folders
After creating a workspace, start uploading the files. When creating a folder, you have the option to keep it hidden. It’s a great feature when you are sharing the workspace with others.
Uploading Files
Onehub supports uploading multiple files and all you need is to drag and drop files to the browser window. Yes, the uploads were fast and the app was successfully able to utilize my maximum upload bandwidth. Unfortunately, there weren’t any options to cancel uploads mid way. The only way to do that is by forcefully navigating to another page. Definitely not an ideal solution.
Working with Files
Predictably, previewing is limited to a few file formats. PDF files, the most common of the lot, can be consumed in their full glory. The online reader is feature rich and allows you to perform many file level actions that includes adding comments, creating associated tasks and many more.
Reading a PDF File
While you are at it, try the fullscreen mode as well. It’s just great! In my opinion, the USP of Onehub is the Google Docs integration. And, the integration comes to effect in just two clicks! After the integration, when you create a document or a spreadsheet from Onehub, an embedded Google Docs window will show up.
Google Docs Integration
It’s the good old Google Drive, and you can create, edit and format documents like you always do. All changes are saved to your Google Drive as usual. Additionally, you can save the same file to your Onehub account for quick access. In that case, you’ll have a copy of the document available in your Google Drive account and the Onehub account.
To start editing or downloading the document, use the respective buttons in the Onehub app. This saves you a trip to the Google Drive folders.
Final Thoughts
The cloud version of Onehub doesn’t come with a desktop app like Dropbox. You’ll have to use the web app for uploading, managing and accessing your files. This is not a big deal considering the desktop apps of all competing solutions are lacking one or another. However, the steep pricing warrants as many perks as possible for a customer.
It’s clear that Onehub is not a cloud storage solution like Box. The app is highly useful to those who use Google Docs heavily and collaborate a lot with their team to create documents. The interface and ease of organization for sure puts Onehub ahead of Google Drive in many respects.
So, if you are in the league that’s looking for a cleaner version of Google Drive, Onehub is the solution you’re looking for!