This article was published on April 26, 2012

Google Drive surpasses 5 million Android downloads as users await iOS app


Google Drive surpasses 5 million Android downloads as users await iOS app

Update: The Google Drive app is a rebranded version of the Google Docs application, taking on its previous download count. We apologise for any confusion caused.

Launching on April 24, Google Drive has been welcomed by Google account holders that wish to be able to extend their Google services to the desktop,  without the need for a browser.

The app — which is exclusively available for Android devices at launch (with iOS apps “coming soon”) — integrates a lot of Google Docs functionality, helping users store, access and share files from their mobile device.

Some users are having to wait until they can access the service, with Google account holders in some Asian countries will unable to sign-up for Google Drive via the dedicated websites, suggesting that the app could see more usage as Google rolls out the service in additional markets.

As we reported recently Google appears to be aiming the service at companies and Google Apps users rather than positioning it as a consumer-facing service a la Dropbox. In fact, due to the deep integration with Google Docs, Drive appears to be more like a Docs upgrade than a stand-alone service.

However, the service draws many parallels with Dropbox and Microsoft’s SkyDrive service, providing an impressive third choice in a cloud hosting market that is still in its infancy.

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