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LiveDrive Backup Review: Mac OS X Online Cloud Backup |
| Sign up for LiveDrive Backup | |
Rating: |
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| Simple and cheap backup that lets you use unlimited storage space for one computer; nice service for backing things up on the go | |
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With the 14-day free trial and affordable price tag afterwards, LiveDrive is worth checking out. This simplified backup service gives you unlimited storage space so you can rest assured that all of your files are safe. And if you want to backup another computer, no problem — it's only an extra $1.45/month to back it up. Especially nice for people who like backing things up as they go, this service has easy controls and a great mobile application as well.
Setup and Backup Like many online backup services, the initial backup takes a very long time depending on how many files are on your computer. Make sure that your Mac is running on version 10.6 or higher. Setup is simple and a LiveDrive icon appears in your applications folder and navigation bar for easy access. The easiest way to use your LiveDrive is through the icon in your navigation bar by the clock. Here you can manage your backups, check backup status, open up the web portal, edit settings and select individual folders for backup. Overall, the interface is quite simple. To select individual folders for backup, just click on the folder so that it's highlighted, click the LiveDrive icon in the navigation bar, and select "backup this folder". Unfortunately, you cannot backup individual files, just directories. Web Interface You can access your backed up files through your LiveDrive web portal. Here is where the interface gets a little cluttered but it's not too bad if you know exactly where to look. It is laid out by folder icons. Clicking on one icon will open up to more folders and files the more specific you get. Here you have the option to rename folders, check properties, download the folders and stream music files when applicable. You can even download previous versions of files. LiveDrive Restore A perk of having LiveDrive for Mac is that the restore feature is built into the software, no need to download it separately like the PC version. To restore, just go into the icon in the navigation bar and click "restore from backup." Here you can view deleted folders, past versions of files and do a mass restore if needed. Briefcase Though LiveDrive's backup solution is $7.95/month or $79.95/ year ($6.66/month), for some extra cash per month you can get LiveDrive Briefcase. Essentially, the briefcase is their answer to your cloud storage needs. To read more about LiveDrive Briefcase, click here to check out the review. Mobile App and Extra Features LiveDrive's free mobile phone application is one of our favorite parts of this service. It is very intuitive and is even more organized than the web interface. When clicking on your backup folder or briefcase on the iPhone, the file navigation is much like scrolling through the songs on your ipod — alphabetically organized and easy to find. With the mobile app, you can easily stream music that was on your backed up computer. There is also a web sharing feature. This is available on the web interface as well and is great when you want to send a file to someone. When sharing, you can either choose to share publicly, where your files will appear on your sharing portal linked to your LiveDrive web address, or privately. If you choose the private option, the person you are sharing with will be sent a username and password that they can use to access the file. LiveDrive allows external drive backup as well; however, the drive must retain the same drive letter at all times (i.e. drive C). Pricing The simple backup option is $7.95 if you pay per month. The $79.95 annual plan however, brings it down to $6.66/month. You can go even lower than that if you choose to pay up front for a different 1 year, up to 5 year, plan. At the 5 year point it's only $3.67/month. If you want to, you can pay up front for one year, skip the free trial and get a 30 day money back guarantee and a new price of $69.95, which is only $5.83/month. Note that you can only get the free trial if you get the $7.95/month or $79.95/year plan afterwards. To backup additional computers, it's a mere $1.45 extra per month, cheaper than some other services' additional computer options. The Briefcase plan is $15.95 per month, with much cheaper annual options, and offers a plethora of file syncing features. Other plans include the Pro Suite plan, which is $24.95 per month and combines Backup and Briefcase together, and the Business Plan, which is $49.95 per month. LiveDrive lays out their large collection of annual plans and pricing before you're done registering, so you get a chance to weigh your options. Conclusion Overall, LiveDrive's cheap backup plan is a great value. It's safe and simple, and though you can only backup one Mac per subscription, you get unlimited storage space and it only costs an extra $1.45/month to backup an additional computer. Nice sharing features and an attractive mobile app really add to the appeal. If you want syncing features added into the mix, check out the Briefcase, LiveDrive's cloud storage counterpart. Sign up for LiveDrive Backup | Compare to Other Mac Online Cloud Backup |
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| Cheapest Price: | $6.66/mo (w/ annual plan) |
| Free Trial/ Discount: | 14-day free trial Save up to 54% w/ annual plans |
| Gigabytes (GB) of Storage Included: | Unlimited |
| # of Computers Backed Up: | 1; $1.45/mo per add'l computer |
| External Drive Backup: | Yes |
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