Evernote & Google Docs had a baby! …Makes Microsoft Word a proud Grandpappy!
Let’s get serious.
Dropbox Paper has several standout functions that make it more of a text-based productivity application than a word processor, like the ubiquitous Microsoft Word.
Features
Dropbox has embraced a different way of thinking with paper. The integrated feature-set means that organizations|teams|groups will have the ability to collaborate in ways that just aren’t as seamless in Word, or even Google Docs, or Evernote. Anyone familiar with the productivity world would liken the interaction as being something closer to what you find in project management tools like Basecamp.
- Built-in tasks,
- Due dates,
- @mentions,
- Rich link previews,
- Quick linking (+filename), and
- Quick Tables
Setup
Setting up Dropbox Paper is dead simple.
- Visit dropbox.com and login, or create an account.
- Choose Paper from the left sidebar.
Dropbox has a wealth of templates to help you get started!
Pricing
Dropbox, as of yet, does not add the documents in Paper to the calculations of the Dropbox storage limit, nor have they announced a pricing structure for what appears to be a meaningfully separate Dropbox product for teams. No money down is a good thing for now, but says to me that they’re not sure where this product fits in their business model.
That being said, from a development and usage standpoint, the platform is beautifully built, easy to use and rock-solid in its implementation
Ideal User(s)
Smedium teams with a project-focused structure can definitely get behind where this product is headed, but I can see freelancers and solopreneurs having great success with siloing DB Paper off for easy project management and collaboration.
My Findings
Dropbox is a business testing out something innovative, but new. If they decide tomorrow that the Paper experiment is a non-starter, teams will have to find a new home for their data. While their enthusiastic, active development of this product would make my concerns seem unfounded, one needs only to look no further than the Dropbox-led cult favorite, Mailbox App.
Proceed with caution, but also without delay. If your group is managing projects with email and documents as the management software, this is the solution for you. Even if Dropbox decides to sunset this product at some distant point in the future at the end of the say Paper documents are just documents and nobody stores documents like the folks at Dropbox. Also, there are enough players in this space that there would be plenty of similar and safe places to land. More on that later!
