Google Drive

I just downloaded Google's new cloud storage drive today to give it a test run. I'm an avid user of Dropbox and I have it install on all of my computers and tablets. I've also tried BOX and Skydrive as well but Dropbox is still my favourite by far.

At first I was impressed with the Google Drive as it gave me the ability to upload entire folders and not just single files like most other cloud services. However, I soon noticed that the folders I uploaded are still empty on my other systems. The original ground zero folders on my work laptop all register as still syncing. My gut feeling tells me this is not correct as those files should have synced a long time ago.
So far Google Drive...Not impressed:(

Here are more details about the Google Drive by Brad Mccarty...

It’s been an interesting few days around the tech world, with the imminent launch of Google Drive looming large. But now the service is live at http://drive.google.com/start so get downloading and let’s take a look:

As we reported only a bit ago 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.

Now, here’s what you need to know:

• Drive gives new users 5 GB free for each user account. Upgrades are 25GB for $2.49/month, 100GB for $4.99/month or even 1TB for $49.99/month
• Docs storage does not count against your Google Drive quota
• Desktop apps for Windows and OS X are available today. Android is there too but iOS integration is coming in the next few weeks
• Drive will allow 30+ file types to open natively in the browser, including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and HD video

So there are the facts, now let’s examine what they mean.

First off, I was wrong. I had billed Google Drive as being a direct competitor for Dropbox, but it appears that Google has other ideas in mind. There’s absolutely no doubt that Drive is aimed squarely at enterprise-level storage options such as Box, with the hope that those companies are already using Google Apps services. But even if a company isn’t a Google Apps user, near-limitless storage could be a great way to persuade them toward being one.

If Google had come out of the gates with Android and iOS integration, it could still have held a really good chance at unseating Dropbox for some users. While it would be foolish to think that every Dropbox user would leave the service for Google Drive, there are those who aren’t as tied to their Dropbox accounts and would welcome deeper Google integration.