A few weeks back on Pocket-lint we lined up some of the biggest players in the cloud storage field against one another to see which service was the best. (It was a nice piece and well worth a read when you've got an afternoon to kill).

Nonetheless, there are one or two cloud services that didn’t get a mention, but one that perhaps that did more so than any other is Canonical’s Ubuntu One. And one reason that’s just made it all the more compelling is the launch of this app for the service on the operating system that we all call Android...

Ubuntu One Files

Format

Android

Price

Free

Where

Android Market

Now, before you go getting your knickers is a twist, you do not need to have Ubuntu - nor any version of Linux - installed on you PC in order to use Ubuntu One and the Ubuntu One Files app. We’ll say it again, you do not need to have Ubuntu installed. This is a service that is, and has been, open to anyone who can access the Internet since its launch. What this app offers is mobile phone access and syncing to it.

To start somewhere near the beginning, Ubuntu One gives anyone who signs up 2GB of free online space to insert whichever kinds of files they wish. All very nice. Naturally, you can upgrade that for more room but doubtless you can figure that one out for yourself should you get hooked.

Installing the Ubuntu One Files app on your phone means that you can sync whatever’s up there in your cloud with your Android mobile. In fact, as soon as you open it up for the first time, it will offer to upload your handset’s photos to Ubuntu One and to do so every time you snap a new one. Naturally, you’re welcome to drill down and select exactly when you’d like that to happen and whether over mobile broadband or Wi-Fi or both. Beyond that, you’re welcome to upload any other file type manually.

And the fun doesn’t stop there. Press and hold on the files in the app and you can publish them to your social networks or share more privately to individuals or small groups of friends. Much like Dropbox, you can also share folders with people, collaborate on documents together and even start streaming music if you’re willing to upgrade to the Ubuntu One Mobile package from $3.99 per month, but that’s an app for another time. Short of that, you’re perfectly welcome to click on songs in your cloud space and call them down to your device much in the same way as iCloud on Apple works.

Whether or not you’re looking to switch cloud services, what we would say to Android users is give this one a crack. It’s always worth taking advantage of free locker space, especially when it syncs and can be accessed on mobile. Lots to gain here, nothing to lose. Dive in.