File-storage rock star start-up Dropbox has unveiled today new features for its web-based platform. The company has been on a tearing run over the past two years and the growth does not seem to be halting. In fact, in a recent study done, the company ranked as the most highly funded tech company in 2011, far out-stripping companies such as Facebook and Groupon. The new features are actually a much easier UI and the user experience becomes simplified.

User Interface

The first thing you notice when you log on is that everything seems a whole lot bigger than it was previously. The older version had small icons and the user interface squeezed into the center of the web page. The new version has supersized everything, and now moving from one folder to another can be easily achieved with the up and down buttons and accessed with a simple tap of the enter button. What users will like most about it is that everything is now front and center and the huge bar on the left removed.

Image: CrunchBase

Media Viewer

The new Dropbox also comes with a snazzy new photo viewer that opens up when you click on a photo. The technology behind it is simply a full screen lightbox with brilliant execution, as the image viewer fills the whole page. There is also an option at the bottom to view the original image if you so wish. This feature also supports video viewing.

Drag-and-drop and keyboard shortcuts

That feature that we have become so accustomed to using on Facebook and Google, not to mention WordPress has finally come to Dropbox as well. Now you can drag and drop files and folders in-browser without having to manually do it as in the past, as well as use keyboard shortcuts to get things done.

Dropbox says that this is just the first of changes in the platform, which the company plans to overhaul completely over time and this means more changes are on the way.

About Daniel Mbure

Daniel is a writer, strategist and serial tech entrepreneur. Follow Daniel on Twitter @thespianic