Google Drive is finally here! In essence, Google Drive replaces Google Docs, but allows you to easily access your files from everywhere. You’ll get 5GB for free to start and then pricing reasonably goes up to $2.49/month for 25GB and $4.99 for 100GB. You can go up to 1TB for $50/month and all the way up to 16TB for $800/month. Very reasonably priced especially compared to Dropbox’s $10/month pricing for 50GB and $20/month tier for 100GB.
Now, what happens to Google Docs and Picasa if you use Google Drive? They can all work separately or you can just have Google Drive sync and back them both up. But, effectively, Google wants you to replace Google Docs with Google Drive which is really the same thing. The interface is the only difference, showcasing a neater folder listing look for your files.
What if you are already paying for your Google Docs? Will you be charged twice? No, your current Google Docs will not add to your Google Drive storage quota. Only, new uploaded files will count to your Google Drive quota.
The big takeaway for me is that Google has apps to use for iPhone support, for Androids, iPads, and all Macs and PCs. Before this, there were third-party apps that were not reliable or crashed when trying to access Google docs on handhelds. Having Google as your app is as sure as betting on gold lately! It’s a sure thing and will be a stable, easy way to access all your files on the fly.
The Google Drive PC setup and Mac setup is extremely straight-forward and so is accessing files on your phone. This is definitely a great cloud service to check out. For a free 5GB, why not?!
