New Google Drive To Take On DropBox, Box.Net, and Apple’s iCloud.

February 12, 2012 by Anderson Curry in Tech & Gadgets with 0 Comments

It appears that Google may be getting into the cloud storage business according to a news story published by The Wall Street Journal last week. According to the WSJ, Google may only be weeks away from launching a cloud storage service that will rival offering from companies like Dropbox Inc., Box.net, and Apple’s iCloud service.

Drive allows people to store photos, documents and videos on Google’s servers so that they could be accessible from any Web-connected device and allows them to easily share the files with others, these people said. If a person wants to email a video shot from a smartphone, for instance, he can upload it to the Web through the Drive mobile app and email people a link to the video rather than a bulky file. – WSJ

Google Drive service is expected to be free at launch for most consumers and businesses. Google is expected to charge a fee if you want to store a large amount of files, but the cost is expected to undercut the rates currently offered by Dropbox and Box.net. Specifically Google will maybe looking at a Google Apps version of the service for businesses to tackle the market held by Box.net.

Google’s Drive service also would rival Apple’s iCloud, which lets people store data online and is designed to synch with Apple mobile devices.

Currently Box.net and Apple’s iCloud service offers users 5GB of storage for free, with Apple’s solution exclusive to iOS devices only. Dropbox offers a free 2GB option with includes desktop integration that creates a virtual drive on your PC or Mac. Dropbox and Box.net also offer mobile apps for Android, BlackBerry, and iOS.

Dropbox just recently began a beta program offering users upto 5GB of storage for pictures and Videos. The next few weeks will be interesting to see if this new service rumor actually has some teeth.

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About Anderson Curry

+Anderson Curry is publisher of Digital Life CEO and Managing Partner at ECS Media Interactive, an Internet marketing agency. Anderson has more than 20 years experience in the technology and marketing industries. He regularly writes and speaks on brand development, social media, technology, and the emergence of the new digital CEO.