Today, I came across a post from +Reg Saddler claiming that people were able to get 50GB of free Box storage for life for new users. A bit skeptical but intrigued I clicked this link, which took me to PC Mag’s site, a reputable source. You can also go directly to the site here to register for a new Box account and claim your account for free that would normally run you $19.99/month
(UPDATE: the offer is now expired however I’m still able to send invites. If interested, subscribe to the blog and shoot me a note via the contact page letting me know you’d like an invite. We’ll see how long until this is removed as well).
At first glance, the functionality looks similar to Dropbox, another cloud storage service which provides 2GB of free storage to all users, including a mobile app that’s integrated with other useful tools such as Genius Scan and the ability to save PDF files that you open from your email.
Apparently Box has done offers similar to this one in the past. I’m not completely sure what their strategy is, but I’m not a huge fan of lifetime memberships – especially free ones – from a business perspective. Giving away a potential guaranteed cash inflow stream for a potential upsell down the road carries too much risk for my blood.
What do you think? Have you or will you use Box? Would you give away you product/service for a lifetime to increase you customer base? Let me know in the comments below.
Stay tuned for a more detailed review of Box once I’ve had a chance to play around with it a bit.
I think I’ll stick with Google Drive for now.
Jesse, thanks for the comment. I like Google Drive too but there are a couple of things I’ll point out in favor of Box:
1) Google Drive only gives you 5GB for free (not the 50GB associated with this offer); however, other plans appear to be cheaper since 100GB only costs $4.99/month
2) The Google Drive mobile app interface isn’t as good as Box or Dropbox in terms of being able to create folders to organize although it has the same functionality
The one thing that I see Google Drive has that Dropbox and Box don’t have is the ability to edit within the mobile app. It’s difficult due to the size if you’re on your phone so I wouldn’t recommend it, but it’s good to know the option is there if you’re in a bind and can’t get to your computer.
At the end of the day, it comes down to preference all else equal but having 10times more storage was enough for me to at least look at Box.
Competing with mega.co.nz
Sadly looks like the offer is over. Ah well, my Dropbox account is always hovering at full, so I would really have liked to get the additional storage.
Frankly, I’d work around whatever differences there were for 25X the space!
To the commenter about Google Drive: I find it unwieldy, and even though Dropbox is no more secure I trust them a lot more not to datamine my info than Google, who are constantly in trouble all over the world for abusing people’s privacy. I’m trying to move away from Google products just because they fail as a responsible steward of information.
Fred, I’ve had similar thoughts but still find myself using Drive from time to time, particularly on shared spreadsheets because the real time multi-person editing is tough to beat. Linking that in with GooglePlus Hangouts and it becomes tough to completely break away.
As for the offer, I still think I can get it if you want to drop me an email here, through the contact page, or by subscribing.
Eric, I would take an invite. I just subscribed to your posts. cheers.
Thanks, Lucas. I have a note out to Box because the screen where they say I can do it keeps freezing up. I will definitely get back with you once I hear from them.
Eric, is the offer still available?
~Jack