Posted on April 26th, 2012
Google has officially launched its Google Drive cloud storage product
Google, the search engine guru, made an announcement on Tuesday claiming that they had successfully introduced highly popular cloud storage offer named Google Drive to their clientele. According to the SVP, Chrome and apps, Sundar Pichai, users will be privy to 5GB worth of complimentary storage along with the option to update their accounts via monthly charges. Microsoft also announced on Monday that they are offering 7GB free storage to new users along with 25GB to present ones.
The news was much anticipated already, since rumors abounded that Google was already planning a cloud storage software of its own for years. Google Drive can be purchased more cheaply than Dropbox, (at 25GB for $2.49/month), 100GB for $4.99 per month or 1TB for $49.99 per month. With an existing account, users can be privy to 25GB worth of Gmail account storage as well. However, web hosts that offer cloud storage themselves, may not see Google Drive offering much competition and particularly if they also provide email and privacy services.
Drive is meant to work with other Google based items such as Gmail and is meant to retain existing clients as compared to attracting new ones. Incidentally, once it becomes a commodity, cloud storage providers and web hosts alike may need to cut down the price tags of their own services. That’s because Google Chrome has lots of other free apps in their store, Yola, which also includes a free website builder along with hosting that can be assimilated with Drive. Plus, the service can be used to create spreadsheets, documents etc in real time.