Dropbox update delivers performance improvements, better notifications

Popular cloud backup and storage tool Dropbox 2.2.4 FINAL has been released for Windows, Mac and Linux. The app, also available on iOS and Android, allows users to backup, sync and share data across a wide variety of devices via a central Dropbox folder.

Version 2.2 comes with a new notifications badge, a refactored core sync engine, improved memory usage, start-up performance improvements and Finder icon overlay enhancements.

Although this is the first significant update to Dropbox since version 2.0 was released in March, version 2.2 doesn’t produce much in the way of visible new features. The new badge appears over the Notification area or menu bar icon when a notification has been received, while Mac users should also notice that the Finder icon overlay used to signify if files within the Dropbox folder are in sync or have been updated has also been improved.

Other changes are beneath the hood -- the core sync engine has been streamlined without affecting its functionality, while the latest build also comes with the promise of faster start-up times and overall performance improvements.

The stable build comes two weeks after a more radical beta build -- Dropbox Experimental Edition v2.3.14 -- was unveiled, showing off features designed to simplify and streamline the importing of images and photos into the user’s Dropbox folder.

Dropbox 2.2.4 FINAL is available now as a freeware download for Windows, Mac and Linux, as are Dropbox for iOS 2.2.2, Dropbox for Android 2.3.8 and Dropbox for Windows 8.