The much awaited and rumored news have come true when Google finally introduced Google Drive yesterday with a hefty 5GB free storage. That much space is more than enough for storing your important docs, high resolution photos of vacation or party and some videos. Not only that, with the introduction of Google Drive, Google has also the storage capacity of Gmail to 10GB for free although Picasa storage remains untouched.

Google Drive Official Video:

Google Drive Features:

1. 5GB Free Storage:
   Google Drive comes with enough space of 5GB for free.
   
   
2. Windows, Mac/PC App:
   Google Drive provides a simple app which you can install on your Windows, Mac/PC easily and start storing data by dragging and dropping files in the special folder.
   
   
3. Easy Automatic Sync:
   After you install Google Drive app, it automatically sync your files between your computer and the web. You don't have to do any additional set up for sync. Everything is quietly done in the background.
   
   
4. Google Docs and Drive Merged:
   Yes, Google Docs is now merged with Google Drive, so you can easily collaborate and share your new and existing docs with Google Drive.
   
   
5. Search Scanned Documents:
   You can also search any text in the scanned documents stored in your Drive with the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology.
   
   
6. Organize your Files into Folders:
   You can easily create folders in the drive and organize your files for easy access. It is just like making folders on your own system.

Upgrade Plans:

Upgrade plans are bit different which simultaneously gives a benefit to your Gmail and Picasa storage.

1. Upgrade to 25GB plan for $2.49/Month and get 25GB in Google Drive, Picasa and Gmail as a bonus.
2. Upgrade to 100GB plan for $4.99/Month and get 100GB in Google Drive, Picasa and 25GB in Gmail as a bonus.

Those are just 2 plans mentioned but you can upgrade your account to as high as 16TB storage for $799.99/Month.

System Requirements:

• Windows: XP, Vista and 7.
• Mac: Lion (10.7) and Snow Leopard (10.6)
• Android Phones & Tablets: Eclair and up (Android 2.1+)
• iPhone & iPad: iOS 3.0+

Conclusion:

Google Drive certainly looks to be a big competitor for popular online storage service providers like Dropbox and Sky Drive. Also the increase of storage limits to Gmail cannot be overlooked. Can Google Drive prove to be the best of all? Are you going to shift to Google Drive for the time being? It is just a matter of time. Let us know your thoughts.