Google Drive Incoming To Take On Dropbox And iCloud

Google is preparing to launch a cloud storage service, Google Drive, sources claim, taking on iCloud and Dropbox with free and paid accounts. Set to open for uploads "in the coming weeks or months" the WSJ's insiders say, Google Drive will supposedly undercut Dropbox's paid subscription pricing, which begins at $10 per month for 50GB. A free plan, meanwhile, will offer both individual and business users some cloud-based space without cost, likely ad-supported like free Gmail.

Dropbox also offers a $20 per month plan for 100GB of space. Google Drive is the culmination of "G Drive" rumors and plans dating back several years, with the much-tipped service originally expected to debut in 2007 but failing to materialize.

Drive will contain documents, photos and videos, and allow users to share their files via a download link rather than send the content directly through email or similar. There will also be Google Drive apps for mobile devices, it's suggested, for uploading photos and video direct to the cloud store.

Google has declined to comment on the rumored service, but online storage is a relatively small step from the company's existing product platform. Users are already offered free Gmail accounts, Documents stores, Google Music for audio uploads, and Picasa photo and video galleries, each accommodating several gigabytes of content. Corralling those under a single banner would be no great leap, though Google would likely come under increased attention over the possibility of users uploading copyrighted content.

[via Android Community]