With Google’s long awaited file-synchronisation service Google Drive set to launch within the coming weeks, details are already starting to emerge over what it will provide for users.
A leaked screenshot of the service has indicated that when Google does take the wraps off its Drive service, users will automatically be furnished with 5GB of free storage, rivalling offerings by Box.net and SugarSync, and eclipsing the default 2GB storage limit of Dropbox’s increasingly popular service (the company allows you to add more space via social sharing initiatives etc).
Dropbox employs the tagline: “Your life’s work, wherever you are.” Google’s: “All your files – everywhere.”
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The search giant notes that users will be able to “Put files in Google Drive and you can access them on your desktop, mobile phone or tablet, and drive.google.com.” Working almost identically to Dropbox and other rival services, users will be able to make changes to a file in one place and find it automatically update everywhere.
Google has already started updating pages on its Support portal, referencing the document-editing capabilities of the Google Drive Android application:
Editing documents in the Google Drive Android app requires ongoing syncs to update your documents, which can increase your bandwidth usage. Keep this in mind if you have a limited data plan with your mobile provider.
That isn’t to say that an iOS app won’t be made available, it simply isn’t listed on Google’s Support pages currently.
Given that they are directly linked with those of its existing Google Docs support pages, the company may rename and relaunch the Google Docs application as Google Drive, providing editing tools directly within the app (although it won’t support spreadsheets). However, it could just be the migration of terms from one service to another.
This would tie in with our earlier report where we showed you how to enable Google Drive options within Google Docs.
GigaOm founder Om Malik’s sources believe Google Drive will launch in ‘early April’. If true, we only have a little while to wait until all becomes clear.
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