NeatCloud offers iOS-accessible cloud storage

The competition among cloud-storage services is getting more crowded this week: "Digital filing" company Neat on Tuesday unveiled NeatCloud, a business-focused storage service that includes an app for iPhone and iPad.The Neat mobile app lets users take pictures of documents--like receipts--for upload to the NeatCloud service, where it is synced to and can be accessed from the mobile devices or desktop computer; NeatCloud also extracts pertinent information from the documents to make them searchable by keyword. (See the video below for a guide to the service.) And if you don't want to use your phone to scan a receipt, Neat also offers hardware and software for scanning and accessing documents at your Mac. In addition to its mobile features, users can also email documents directly to NeatCloud for storage and reference, and multiple users can share a single NeatCloud account for collaboration purposes.NeatCloud is just the latest entry in the competitive cloud-storage market, with most of the services offering accompanying iOS apps. Dropbox is granddaddy of such services, along with stalwarts like Box.com and OfficeDrop--and they've been joined in the last year by Apple's own iCloud service, GoogleDrive, and Cubby. Doxie Go also offers NeatCloud-style scan-and-save services, while Evernote has similar scan-and-extract-pertinent-information skills. Prospective users can try NeatCloud with a 30-day free trial; after that, subscriptions are $6 a month for a single user, ranging up to $25 a month for a "business" account that allows access by up to five different users. That purchases up to 50 GB of storage, with each additional gigabyte costing 50 cents a month. The Neat mobile app is compatible with any device running iOS 4.0 or later.