Saving Android Bookmarks, Web Pages and More to the Cloud

Making an Android device more usable is possible by extending its reach. This can be done by syncing information such as username & password combinations, bookmarks, open web pages and more up into the cloud.

The cloud is essentially a collection of inter-connected computer servers that can provide 24/7/365 access to your data. Often data is encrypted prior to transmission over the internet and stored in secure encrypted fashion once there.

Google Sync

The Google Chrome web browser runs on multiple platforms including Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. It is one of several Google apps that is capable of typing into the Google Sync account features.

When creating a Google account under the Settings and Accounts area in Android you simply need to add an email account and Google will store information in this Google account.

The Google Sync service is capable of providing a free cloud syncing service that can backup usernames & passwords, open browser tabs, contacts, calendar, and much more.

For users who like create more of an information buffer between themselves and Google, the Firefox Sync service is a viable alternative via the Mozilla Firefox browser on Android. This service can sync to the cloud and backup bookmarks, preferences, browsing history, passwords and form submissions, the list of installed add-ons and the most recently opened 25 tabs. Firefox and Firefox Sync works across multiple computing platforms, not just Android.

Password Managers

There are password managers which store username and password combinations – and often other data too – in the cloud for you. LastPass and Dashlane are two such apps that offer this service. Both have free offerings, but syncing is extremely limited unless you subscribe to their yearly service at a cost of $25 or more. A recent comparison article on Download3K looked at both these services in more detail.

Xmarks, from the same people behind LastPass (by acquisition) does a good job of storing favorite bookmarks located in your web browser of choice. It does tend to interfere with other sync services like those of Google Sync and Firefox Sync though and bookmarks can get duplicated or confused at times. The Android app is a premium service with a $25 annual subscription.

Pocket (previously known as Read It Later)

Pocket is an app for several different platforms, as well as a web app, that can be used to store web pages being viewed. Whilst the free service was initially intended as a bookmarking service to note down articles to read later, it may also be used as a web site address bookmarking service too. This is because it has a far better search function than the bookmark manager does in several web browsers.

Pocket offers the benefit of being able to pull in simplified versions of bookmarked articles and posts, complete with included minimized graphics, in an ad-free, uncluttered version of the text from each page. This can make the reading experience more Kindle-like than just reading an article on a web site.

Cross-platform compatible, so it is possible to also use iOS and other devices to access the list of bookmarked pages (and images and videos now too). The web interface is also extremely clean-looking and easy to use.

Instapaper is a premium $2.99 alternative to Pocket with some matching features. Each services has its fans.

YouTube Watch Later

Frequent users of YouTube can bookmark videos to watch later rather than using a service like Pocket to do the same.

The Watch Later button in the footer of YouTube videos is an easy way to add a video to their list.
Www.youtube.com

Evernote

Evernote is a scrapbook collector for all information requirements. Credit card numbers, passwords, the birthdays of your friends, photos, documents, you name it.

Many people use Evernote as a general information collecting tool and organize using notebooks. Record some audio and upload it to a notebook. Take a photo of something and upload it. The usefulness of Evernote in the cloud is that you can store just about any piece of information securely and never lose it, rather than having disparate bits of information in the cloud, disorganized.

Getting The Most Out Of Cloud Storage Services

Services like Dropbox and Google Drive offer storage in the cloud for free or for a price for increased gigabytes of storage. Cloud storage can be generalized for users to store whatever they wish, however these services can also be used more fully through other Android apps.

Google Drive links to many Google services and so it's handy to use it for backup services. Many apps will offer cloud sync via your own cloud service to backup their app data and offer hook-ups to Dropbox, Google Drive and other services. Google Drive stores your spreadsheets from GDocs automatically.

Dropbox offers the same generalized cloud storage, but is also a very common method to sync data from a given app up to their service. So much so that it is easy to run out of the free 2GB of storage (unless you've recently bought a smartphone with Dropbox pre-installed and can receive 48GB extra free storage for 2 years) or subscribe to their Pro service.

Choose the right selection of cloud services to suit your needs. Try different services and apps until you get the right mix for you.