Having access to several free and premium file hosting accounts, and having testing and used most of them, file sonic does some good things. This is probably why filesonic is gaining popularity. After using this service I could say these things.
1. The above stated, good payout rates, with a low payment threshold $15.
2. The remote upload works damn good. You don't have to stay on that page till the file uploads, and you can check back and get a % of completion, while over at fileserve.com the remote file uploads just say "pending..." and you can not tell how long they have left.
3. Overall good file size limits / short download wait / decent to very good speeds (upload and download)
The rate of files removed (probably due to copyright complaint, ect) is very high for filesonic. I've seen instances where files that were only a few minutes/hours old are instantly removed. Again not important because it's not you intend on downloading illegal files anyway (right, guys?).
I know there are users who upload only legit, legal files. In reality, the dark underbelly of the internet where people download and share illegal files make up a large portion of the people using the sites. So for these folks sometimes popular file hosts like filesonic or fileserve are desirable because a lot of people prefer these sites to get their downloads. There are other file hosting sites with lower rates of file take downs. Netload.In is a popular file host where files being removed take longer(this is arguable), if they are removed. As long as the links stay alive, they can continue to rack up more download points (and or money balance). On the same token, Netload.in isn't as solid in other areas of it's service. (400mb file size limit, lower pay rate, website usability is cumbersome and not as clean cut as file sonic.
Overall I think they are a solid file hosting service, as long as they can maintain all the needs of their users, they will remain very popular.
Keep in mind of those file hosters that were at the lead of the pack, which is easy to flop. Rapidshare, for example, has flopped. Rapidshare was #1 for so long, so they arn't just going to go away over night. It is still very popular, due to name brand, but they really lost a step or two. THe picture below I have compared Rapidshare.com, Hotfile.com, and Filesonic.com.
Filesonic.com being in the red, has a sharp increase since starting, but look at rapidshare's decrease.
Filesonic is on the right track but ^^^ It's easy to fall off.
Tyyymyshoe
http://www.filehostingdirectory.com