Its interface is slick and attractive, but not really designed for use on a small screen. So, what do you get for that fee? Not a mobile app – RapidShare is Web-based, so all of the sharing is done from within your browser. Yes, RapidShare charges you almost $63 a month. First off, it’s prohibitively expensive, with the most inexpensive account, the 300GB Standard Plus, costing 49.99 Euros – that’s almost $63 at the current exchange rate. And, from the start, I realized that it is. After suffering through slow file transfers on some of the services I tested, I thought this one, for sure, would be different.

I was intrigued as soon as I heard the name RapidShare. RapidShare’s design is attractive and its drag-and-drop tool for sharing is nice. In fact, 4Shared really shines when sharing audio and video content, as it lets you play those files back in the Web-based version, too, and includes a link you can use to embed the files on Web sites you operate. The free Android and iOS apps let you view files on your mobile devices, and allow you to play audio and video back within the apps. This makes 4Shared an easy way to get your own content on multiple devices. Once they register, they can download the files you’ve shared. You friends don’t have to be 4Shared users to view your content, though they will be strongly encouraged to sign up as they navigate the site. You also can set passwords and determine whether users see all of the files or only certain ones. You can set permissions for each folder, allowing its content to be shared or remain private. Like iFiles, 4Shared creates a folder system for you-which you can customize to fit your needs – and lets you upload the files you’d like to share. If you can move past that flaw, you’ll find that 4Shared offers some great tools for sharing your files with colleagues, friends, and family members.

The transfer process can be slow, and the Web version doesn’t have the same document viewer features that you’ll find on the iOS app, which allows you to view photos, documents, PDFs, and more within the app. From your computer, you can easily send files to folders on iFiles, or transfer files over to your PC. Enter it in your browser and you can access the same iFiles folder system you’ll see on your portable device. Its sharing features allow you to transfer files directly from your desktop computer using a secure Web link. To justify its $3.99 price tag, however, iFiles has to do more-and it does. Desktop computer users who have bemoaned the lack of folder-based storage system on iOS will appreciate this feature alone. It creates a system of folders to which you can easily add files so they’re all collected in one place. IFiles is, at its heart, a file manager for your iOS device. Part of that ‘more’ includes sharing features that aren’t as streamlined as those offered by Send Anywhere, but will likely prove very useful nonetheless. IFiles bills itself as a file manager, viewer, editor and more. IFiles creates a folder structure for storing content on your iOS device. You can get around this by saving the file to your device as soon as it’s received-then you’ll have it even when it’s gone from Send Anywhere’s list. I can see how this would be useful for some types of files, but I was using Send Anywhere to share files I wanted to keep on another device, so I didn’t like the fact that they disappeared from the app so quickly. Send Anywhere boosts security by allowing recipients to view the files you’ve sent for only 10 minutes after that, they disappear.

File transfer send anywhere