Take a 5 GB drive with Google – for free!

The idea of Google Drive is one of those great-sounding too-good-to-be-true services that the public hears about through the rumors and industry gossip, and yet for whatever reason never actually becomes reality. However, based upon the evidence, we are fairly certain that Google Drive, an online storage space for files on Google’s servers, will be announced and made available to the public very, very soon!

This news has been taking shape and gaining momentum in recent days. While there is still no exact date for launch of this new Google service, it will probably happen within a week or two. Some actually point to the announcement being made next Tuesday or Wednesday as of this writing.

The site TheNextWeb obtained access to a preliminary version of the official announcement of this new service from Google and then managed to gain access to the contours of what will this new service. The first and most important aspect of Google Drive is that it is a free service. Like most other Google services, Google Drive will also be free. However, the possibility exists of being able to obtain (read: earn) additional storage space.

Google Drive interface

Five (5) GB of free storage is also an important factor and this differentiates it from the competition. All users will have this space available upon which to store their files. Pricing for additional space is not available at this time.

Being relatively late in the game, Google has the advantage of having learned from its competitors’ offerings. Google Drive will have software support for all major operating systems. It’s initial release will only provide support for the Windows and Mac OS’s, but Android and iOS support is expected to quickly follow. The service will also be available at https://drive.google.com/.

According to available information, Google Drive will synchronize your files to a folder, making it available in your workplace. This is somewhat similar to what current service competitors already do.

This confirms the many occasional leaks which has led up to this service being made available very soon. Only last week a partner of Google, Lucidchart, mistakenly gave access to a Web page integrating their services with Google Drive. This was very quickly removed, but many had gained access to it, also validating previous rumors.

Google is positioning itself as a service provider offering competition and bringing its users a better and more refined product. The question now is how companies like Dropbox, Box or even Microsoft itself will react to the arrival of this heavyweight competitor.

We look forward to next week to see if the rumors are true.

Take a 5 GB drive with Google – for free! 5.005 (100.00%) 1 vote
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This article was first published April 17th, 2012