After months of rumors and expectations, Google officially announced its new cloud storage service Google Drive. All the users who have a Google account can have 5 GB of free space to upload their files and share them with other people.
Google Drive is the evolution of Google Docs, in fact since its activation in the Google account the menu item “Documents” has been replaced by “Drive”. The service wasn’t immediately available for all Google users but it should spread pretty quickly.
With Google Drive you can work on files in real time with other people, store your files to always have them available and make filtered search.
The full integration of Google Drive requires the installation of an application, available for Windows, Mac and Android. Google announced it’s working on a version for iOS of the Drive Application and according to unofficial statement also on a version for Linux.
It will also be possible to have access to third-party applications. Google is already working with various companies to give Google Drive users additional services through applications that at least initially will be available in the Chrome Store.
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Anyone needing larger amounts of space can buy the paid versions of the Google Drive service, choosing the one that suits their needs, up to 1 TB of space for $49.99 per month. The paid service also gives an expansion of your Gmail account to 25 GB.
Now the question is how Google Drive will position compared to competitors, especially Dropbox and MS SkyDrive. The free Dropbox account has a limit of 2 GB, the SkyDrive one comes with 7 GB to new users but for the ones who already had an account can now request to retain the limit of 25 GB that existed for a while.
Each of those and other cloud storage services has its applications, also for mobile devices, its functions of synchronization, collaboration, sharing and searching. The possibilities are many and Google may have entered this market late. Sure, it has the great advantage that Google Drive is integrated in every Google account so its users can activate it very easily with a few clicks. For those already using Google Docs, it’s basically an upgrade. It’s hard to think that Google Drive might not be a success.
