The mythical, much-anticipated Google Drive is finally here and ready for you to take it for a spin. Google announced the new service earlier today on its blog, and it offers many improvements over the former, stand-alone Google Docs service.
In addition to now offering 5GB of free storage for any and all files, Google Drive now allows users to share, collaborate, and add comments on everything - PDFs, images, videos, etc. – not just Google Docs files. Additionally, with Google's Optical Character Recognition, you'll be able to search PDFs and images with text, and with Google's image recognition technology, you'll even be able to find photographs based on key descriptors (in other words, a search for "Grand Canyon" will actually bring up pictures you uploaded of the Grand Canyon).
Furthermore, to celebrate the launch of Google Drive, Gmail now offers 10GB of free storage (and counting), instead of the former 7.5GB.
You can download the Google Drive app for Android on your HTC EVO right now from the Play Store, but don't worry if your own Google account has not been set up with Google Drive yet: Google is apparently gradually rolling out these new features for users over the next few hours or days.
Download: Google Play
[Docs Blog | Gmail Blog]
It’s a great alternative. The only thing missing is public links, which Dropbox has had for a while (even though it was just advertised). In Dropbox on a PC or Mac, you just right click on a file in your Dropbox “Public” folder and click “Copy Link”. After that, you can paste it anywhere. It gave you total control over file downloads/image hosting. Dropbox has just started advertising it as a reason to retain users, but its been there for a while, and it’s the one big thing Google Drive is missing.
At first blush I was underwhelmed by Drive… I REALLY like that shareable link option on Dropbox (makes it easy to share with anyone regardless of whether they have an account) and I already have 23GB on my free account thru various bonuses.
I’m still not sure how Drive’s sharing options work because its not enabled on my account yet… The pricing for added storage is a LOT more attractive than Dropbox’s tho, its actually about on par with Amazon I think, who doesn’t offer any service beyond dumb storage.
Seems like Drive has versioing, just like Dropbox, but also discussion tools, SEARCH, and better integration with other services/apps… I take it that means there’s no auto-sync desktop client like Dropbox tho? That’s one of Dropnox’s best assets, if Drive lacks that ill probably just use both for different purposes.
If Drive has a desktop app that can auto sync a folder I’d consider switching to it exclusively and paying for 30GB or maybe even 100GB, $30/$60 a year is pretty reasonable IMO.
There is a desktop app that works almost just like Dropbox.
Ok, so after some more reading I see that there is a desktop client and the sharing options are actually very very similar… Dropbox’s client is still more polished (throttling, progress indicator, LAN sync) but I imagine Google’s will improve. Right now Google’s client even forces you into the web interface to get a shareable link.
http://lifehacker.com/5904731/desktop-file-syncing-faceoff-dropbox-vs-google-drive
I think I agree with that article, Dropbox is more polished overall, with search being the only thing it does worse (and collaboration if you’re using Google Docs). Drive’s pricing does make it very attractive if you don’t already have a pumped out Dropbox account tho… They’re either gonna have to lower prices or keep improving rapidly.
Everyone is missing the point, I will eventually switch over to drive for one reason.
Google will always be around.
Anyone remember that company that started up last year offering 100 gb for something ridiculus like 5$ a month? Everyone thought it was too good to be true and it was. 3 months later, their customers typed in the URL and the website was GONE, along with all of their data. Now I know that this probably wont happen to Dropbox, even if they start to fair badly, they have enough of a foothold in this cloud business that they could stick around.
But enter Google. They are the web, they’ve been handling and sorting the worlds data for a decade now, and they have money, which means they will always be around. Not to mention I have an android phone and that just makes things soooooo much sweeter.
So while Dropbox, or Box (which I have 50 free GB from signing up, thanks g&e) Have some name recognition, who knows if they will be around in 10 years. I know Google will, so I’m jumping ship and trust me, all the polish of their apps and syncing clients will catch up, Google isn’t stupid they are watching.
Its just about time we all submitted to the power of Skyne..err Google.
Have you guys seen the report on CNET regarding Google Drive’s terms of service? If I read their interpretation of these terms, whatever you upload onto the Drive becomes Google property forever. That is enough for me not to use their service. I will stick to Dropbox and Skydrive.
If that’s true I’m sticking with Dropbox even though I only have 2.25 GB with them. Need to build up free space!
Its a piece of cake to get up to about 6GB, for an additional 16GB you need referrals but you can get all 32 referrals in a weekend using (ironically) Google Adwords. Dropbox is just gonna have to lower process on the paid options eventually tho.
reading google drives’ terms of service – it’s the standard one: “Some of our Services allow you to submit content. You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours.”
http://www.google.com/policies/terms/
Paul, The terms of service specifically say that anything you upload becomes Google’s property to use as they see fit, even after you remove the files and discontinue your use of the service. They can use your images for ad campaigns and more importantly, if you put an idea that you have invented or designed, it immediately becomes google’s. Not worth it in my opinion until they make this change.
I just read the terms of service that drive linked me to, can you give be a URL that has that in it? Im just writing from the terms I clicked on on drive.
Sent from my HTC smartphone on the Now Network from Sprint!
i would like to know where this is as well.
“When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones. This license continues even if you stop using our Services (for example, for a business listing you have added to Google Maps).” –From Google’s Terms of Service @ http://www.google.com/policies/terms/
I’m going to stick with Dropbox, Box, and Skydrive at the moment. All of them allow the user to retain full rights. The last sentence I quoted is just scary, because they should not keep my stuff if I take it off the web.
Love Google Android, but they really messed up Drive for me due to that clause.
They do have a desktop app that auto syncs
Really all that means is that you are authorizing them to do what they need to do to make Google Drive work. They do need to host and store it, don’t they? They need to reproduce it in order to back it up, and to send copies to any of your authorized devices, don’t they? They modify or create derivative works to add it to an html page because that is how they display it for shares. There is nothing scary about those rights, without them Google Drive couldn’t even exist.
Paul,
I read the story last night and the link to that story is http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57420551-93/who-owns-your-files-on-google-drive/?tag=mncol;morePosts
After going back it appears that there is an update stating that Google changed their terms of service to state that you own whatever you upload, but last night that was not the case as Kishan has posted below. What is posted below is what the terms of service said last night until an uproar was created and Google apparently went in and changed their terms.
If that was the case, they would not have rushed to change their terms of service because of the uproar caused by this.
They have corrected the issue, and that is all that matters, but the original intent was there for them to take ownership of your files and intellectual properties if you used their service.
This is a non-issue with Dropbox. The files are synched to your PC and/or phone. If they ever go away for some reason, the files are still on your local device. For other services that only upload to the cloud (not sure how Box operates), I would tend to agree.
I highly doubt they really sought ownership of your intellectual properties. What is more likely is that the uproar caused them to see that their terms were being misunderstood and they just clarified them. Even in their original terms, they said “The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones.” They were never going after ownership, they were just trying to give themselves the rights they felt they needed to run the service.
Here are the details.
http://jeremygibbs.com/2012/04/24/sticking-with-dropbox
“Your Content in our Services
Some of our Services allow you to submit content. You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours.
When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones. This license continues even if you stop using our Services (for example, for a business listing you have added to Google Maps). Some Services may offer you ways to access and remove content that has been provided to that Service. Also, in some of our Services, there are terms or settings that narrow the scope of our use of the content submitted in those Services. Make sure you have the necessary rights to grant us this license for any content that you submit to our Services.
You can find more information about how Google uses and stores content in the privacy policy or additional terms for particular Services. If you submit feedback or suggestions about our Services, we may use your feedback or suggestions without obligation to you. ”
So… please read the Terms of Service. It states (still not changed) that “you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content.”
https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/terms/
You all do realize that if you have a Google account, which any Android user has, you’ve already been subject to these terms? Any document you’ve uploaded to Docs, all your Gmail content, Picassa content, etc. is already subject to these terms. These were not just created for Drive.
most if not all online storage companies have similar terms of service anyway.