Google Adds Free 1GB Online Storage, File Size Limit 256MB

As an extension of the Google Docs service, Google has added a 1GB online storage that accepts any file type as long as it is below 256MB per single file. Google has always been in the forefront of providing everything you need online and this comes as yet another product in that line. Long time internet users will remember the time when sending a 1MB attachment on a free email service was a big deal and free POP/IMAP access still isn’t found that easily outside Gmail. Now you can send up to 100MB per email (correct me if I’m wrong) on Gmail and we have had free POP/IMAP access for a long time.

So this new service basically adds value to the already popular Google Docs service. This cloud storage option essentially allows you to access you files from anywhere in the world through an Internet connection. Of course, that is main idea of any cloud storage system but I think Google really has this one well integrated into their services. Even though this new service is exactly like what was know as the GDrive, Google has denied that this is it. They have reinstated that this is part of the Docs service and that is all there is to it. Additional storage is pretty cheap as well — only $0.25 per GB. I know a lot of office people will immediately buy some 10′s of GB’s worth of storage so that they can leave their pen drives and office networks behind!

This new service from Google is likely to also tie in nicely with their forthcoming Chrome OS for netbooks. Since it will be an OS that is completely dependent on the Internet, giving users some free online storage might help Google’s cause. Although, it is possible that that service will be separate and will be exclusively for Chrome OS customers. Since the Chrome OS will be sold only as installed on Chrome OS devices, it shouldn’t hard to implement.

Over all, Google’s strategy to keep us online for as long as possible is slowly but surely working out. Through the various services, platforms like Android and Chrome OS and strategies, Google is making sure that we do most of our work online. That renders hardware, OS and other such separations completely meaningless. Let’s hope this unification does not lead to the dystopia that many fear might happen.

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