Google Drive is finally here: It’s real, but is it spectacular? We kicked the tires and then took it for a spin around the block, all in an effort to answer those burning questions you might have about Google’s new cloud storage endeavor.
After being leaked all across the internet over the last several weeks, Google Drive has finally launched, putting its short-lived status as a mythical beast to rest. The real question is: What can it do for you, and why should you install it? Let’s have a look into everything you’ll need to know in order to use it.
Google Drive is currently available in English only on four platforms: Mac, Windows, Android or any modern web browser. The search giant claims it’s working on an iOS client for the iPhone and iPad, but there’s no indication of when it might hit the App Store -- but we’d bet on later than sooner, judging from the way Google worded its announcement.
The easiest way to explain Google Drive is to compare it to Dropbox, the company and service who helped pioneer the current crop of cloud storage offerings. The concept is simple: Install the client software on any or all platforms you want, drop some files into its local folder and they’ll soon be available from the cloud as well. How fast that happens ultimately depends upon your broadband speed, but smaller files like photos and documents get synced pretty quickly.
Google Docs is incorporated right into Google Drive -- as soon as you install the client software and sign in, your existing Docs content gets synced onto that computer or mobile client and is available for use. If you’re new to Google Docs, you’ll notice that trying to access that service now takes you straight to Google Drive, so it appears the search giant may be trying to actually melt the two cheeses into one vat of fondue, as it were.
Every Google Drive user gets 5GB of cloud storage free, but in reality, Google Docs users are simply getting a bump from that service’s original 1GB to 5GB -- in fact, eagle-eyed users noticed the storage increase ahead of the public launch on Tuesday, one of a number of clues Google dropped like bread crumbs over the last week or two.
But of course -- and Google probably hopes that you will, since they’re not exactly making any money off the moochers who sign up just for the 5GB. The company is making 25GB available for $2.49 per month ($29.88 per year) or 100GB for $4.99 per month ($58.88 per year), but another amounts are also available: 200GB, 400GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB and 8TB. Heck, there’s even a 16TB upgrade available for a whopping $799.99 per month! Paid accounts will also get a bonus, with Gmail storage bumped to 25GB. Those figures compare favorably to competitors, although Microsoft SkyDrive -- which added a Mac client a day prior to Drive’s launch -- is a bit cheaper in the long run.
Slow down, son -- not so fast. Free accounts will still be limited to 1GB for Picasa, but the good news is that your photo storage opportunities will really expand once you start coughing up cold, hard cash. That’s because 25GB worth of Google Drive storage is also shared with Picasa -- likewise for 100GB and up.
It doesn’t, but Google is feeling generous and has decided to bump Gmail storage up to its own 10GB bucket at the same time as it’s handing out only half that amount to Drive users. Doesn’t make much sense to us, but hey, we’re not about to poo-poo on free storage here.
Far be it from us to dictate what you choose to store! And Google probably feels the same way, despite their often-draconian EULA terms. As long as you’re not saving anything illegal or potentially immoral (come on, don’t make us spell it out here, folks!), feel free to toss all the PDF files, images, videos, documents and what not onto your Drive -- at least until Google slams the brakes on your wild ride when the storage limit kicks in.
As with life itself, everything has a limit, and Google Drive will immediately put your upload into park should you try to upload a single file bigger than 10GB -- but take heart, that’s far bigger than any of the competitors will allow.
A-ha! Good for you, discovering a neat little trick to getting more Google Drive storage. As detailed in Drive settings, your storage limit only counts toward files you upload -- native documents in the Google Docs format “don’t use up your storage space,” according to Google. So, that’s like, pretty cool and stuff.
Glad you asked. Google Drive includes upload settings that determine how Google will treat your uploaded documents. By default it’s set to “Confirm settings before each upload,” which puts the user in control -- but you can also tick a couple of options here, including “Convert uploaded files to Google Docs format.” In case you haven’t figured it out, this option changes a Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint document into its matching Google Docs format. While you won’t be able to edit these files natively on the desktop, you’ll be optimizing your space as outlined above, where a native Word file, for example, will count toward your 5GB limit.
Sorry, no. After you’ve installed Google Drive, you’ll notice that existing Docs appear with an extension -- .gsheet for spreadsheets or .gdoc for text documents, for example. There’s currently no Mac app to directly edit such files, and double-clicking on one will simply open your default web browser with that file ready and waiting for you to make changes.
Like Dropbox, Google Drive limits its sharing to the “Google Drive” folder it adds to your Home folder. So, anything you want to sync to Drive has to be copied or moved into this folder. That said, users can also choose to share only select subfolders -- simply choose Sync options from the Google Drive preferences, tick “Only sync some folders to this computer” and then select or deselect folders at will. There’s a separate box for syncing Google Docs files, which essentially enables or disables offline viewing for them.
Beats us. Google’s announcement only included client software for Mac, PC and Android, while cruelly teasing, “we’re also working hard on a Drive app for your iOS devices” without so much as an idea of when it might arrive. Judging from the search giant’s history, we’re guessing it will arrive as a universal app so one download will take care of your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, but you’ll have to consult a fortune teller if you want to know when you can get your hands on it.
Not really. Not surprisingly, search is being touted as a key feature of Google Drive. Text in uploaded PDF or image files can be scanned with optical character recognition so when the time comes to find it again later, simply typing a few words into a search field should turn up whatever you’re after. Google Drive also integrates nicely with Google+, and developers have access to an SDK so they can start integrating the service with their own apps and services.
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BryanLasers
June 26, 2012 at 9:18am
Actually it is possible to access Google Drive on the iPad. I use an app called DocSync which allows me to access and edit my Google Drive files AND my Dropbox files on the iPad. It also lets me remotely access and edit any of my files on my computer from my iPad as well. I would recommend trying this app out if you want to use Google Drive on the iPad.
jordi
May 18, 2012 at 12:43pm
"That said, users can also choose to share only select subfolders -- simply choose Sync options from the Google Drive preferences, tick “Only sync some folders to this computer” and then select or deselect folders at will. There’s a separate box for syncing Google Docs files, which essentially enables or disables offline viewing for them."
Nope. This is actually not possible, only within the folders in the root level of Google Drive, which is very dissapointing...
Anybody tried?
