Google's cloud-based storage officially launched

Rumors of a cloud-based storage offering by Google have been flying around for a while now, and the service has been finally activated. 

Announced via Google’s official blog, Google Drive offers 5GB of free storage to all Gmail users looking to upload documents to the cloud. Users can simply drag and drop files to the service’s desktop app, and can subsequently view them via any device, attach them to Google+ or to Gmail in the future. The storage also includes direct integration with Google Docs, allowing for real-time collaboration on documents and presentations. In addition, scanned text can be searched using the Drive’s Optical Character Recognition technology and image recognition helps rummage through uploaded photos. 

While the free 5GB offered by Google tops their main competitor, Dropbox’s two free GB, the company is also offering the option to purchase additional storage. For a fee of just $2.49/month users can upload up to 25GB of files. Other subscriptions include 100GB of storage for $4.99/month and 1TB for $49.99/month.

The uploaded files can currently be accessed via PC, Mac or Android devices with an iPhone and iPad app also in the works.

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