Dropbox users, listen up. Today, the company released an off-Market beta version of the Android app that finally fixes a runaway always-on background service, adds Apps2SD support, and fixes a bunch of other bugs. As far as I can tell, the background service was introduced to allow uploading of files even if the app is closed, except a buggy implementation never shut the service down. In the new release, files are properly uploaded in the background, after which the service correctly shuts down.

If you haven't checked out the Dropbox Android app before, see our reviews here and here.

In an off chance that you've never tried Dropbox at all, then know this: it is the single most useful application I have personally adopted this year. I drop a file into a local folder and it immediately starts syncing to all of my machines - no more emailing files to yourself or saving them to thumb drives. The beauty is that each file lives locally, in addition to the cloud from which you can restore older versions - Dropbox is just an overseer that immediately spots and syncs changes. Thanks to configurable folder sharing capabilities, we easily share files between all the AP team members. There is a Dropbox client on pretty much any mainstream OS you can think of - it runs on Windows, Linux, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, and, obviously, Android. 2GB are yours for free as soon as you sign up - in order to get more, you either upgrade or refer your friends.

Release Notes

The new beta, bearing a version number 1.0.0.7 contains the following features and fixes:

  • Added a button in Settings to Clear Uploads
  • Account information is available when offline
  • App2SD now works (though some functions may not be available if moved to the SD card)
  • Bug Fixes
    • Fixed several issues with uploads and downloads
    • Notifications are filtered better, so shouldn't overwhelm the phone as much
    • Proxy settings are handled better
    • Fixed several network issues
    • Dropbox Service now shuts down when finished
    • Uploading large files should now happen fully in the background
    • .url files can be viewed properly again
    • Better handling of network and authorization errors

Download

You can download the app by clicking this QR code form your mobile device or scanning it with Barcode Scanner:

[qr]http://db.tt/HnwdfX4[/qr]

Source: Dropbox forums, thanks Ian