Livedrive review

When we reviewed Livedrive back in issue 176 (web ID: 249423), we praised it for its powerful features and overall ease of use, but we had concerns about the plans and pricing.

Now we see it in direct comparison to rival services, our verdict hasn't changed substantially. The close integration of web apps such as Zoho and Picnik is a fine idea, allowing you to view and edit photos or documents from any PC or laptop without having the necessary Office apps installed.

Meanwhile, copying and synchronising files between connected machines using the desktop client is as easy as dragging and dropping them onto the mapped L drive.

It's disappointing that clients aren't yet available for other platforms, but the web browser interface serves these purposes quite well. The only hiccup is that drag and drop doesn't work with Google Chrome.

Mobile users can visit a special version of the Livedrive website, allowing them to view and edit documents or even stream audio and photo files from within a mobile browser. The Windows client offers decent tuning features, including a bandwidth throttle and the ability to prioritise certain file types for syncing (small, vital Word documents, for instance).

File sharing and collaborative features are perfectly adequate, but not as comprehensive as those in Live Mesh or PowerFolder.

Livedrive's Achilles heel is its pricing. The 100GB basic option sounds attractive at £35 exc VAT, but this covers only one PC and no synchronisation. The £90 unlimited plan offers better value, covering up to ten PCs, and this may appeal to small businesses looking for a simple way to collaborate.

Author: Stuart Andrews