Google's cloud storage platform rumors surfaced online in 2004 - the same time when the internet search giant launched closed beta version of its Gmail service. Finally, on April 24, 2012, Google released the much-rumored Google Drive cloud service. Will it kill the business of Microsoft SkyDrive and Dropbox?

On Tuesday, Google opened up a new domain for its Google Drive service. Google Drive is intended to replace Google Docs completely. It offers 5GB of free online storage. For expandable storage options, 9 premium plans are available to choose from. The entry-level plan starts at $2.49 per month giving 25GB of online storage. The master-plan 60TB is priced at $799 per month. Other notable premium plans of Google Drive are 100GB at $4.99 per month and 1TB at $49.99 a month. Also Gmail storage gets bumped up to 10GB. In case, user registers for premium service at Google Drive, Gmail storage gets further increased to 25GB.

Google also announced a native GDrive app for Windows and Mac computers, along with its favorite operating system - Android. An app for iOS (iPhone and iPad) is also coming soon.

Google's cloud service fears Dropbox - the cloud market dominator, which offers only 2GB of online storage for free. At Dropbox, to expand storage, users have to pay a monthly cost of $9.99 and $19.99 for online storage of 50GB and 100GB respectively (only two plans are available). On the other hand, Google Drive offers 100GB for just $4.99 per month, which is even half of 50GB plan's pricing at Dropbox. But an advantage with Dropbox is that it is widely available on most of popular platforms - both mobile and desktop. However, that advantage will not be for long.

Google's plans are much affordable than Dropbox and free limit also exceeds Dropbox by a difference of 3GB. Also, Google Drive is the cloud market leader when it comes to maximum storage limit for business users. But the scenario changes totally in case of Microsoft's SkyDrive.

Just one day prior to the release of Google Drive, on April 23, Microsoft released an update to its SkyDrive. The new update brings some cool features to SkyDrive, like Dropbox-like functionality. Unfortunately, it cuts down the storage limit to 7GB for new users. Existing users who registered for the service prior to April 23 gets 225GB free storage.

Unlike the other two competitors, SkyDrive's premium plans are available on annual basis, instead of months. But the plans are cheaper than both GDrive and Dropbox. 20GB storage costs $10 a year, while 100GB plans is priced at $50 per year. SkyDrive app is available for Windows, Mac, iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Windows Phone OS. Unfortunately, there is no android app of SkyDrive.

When comparing these three cloud backup solutions, we see a competition building up that could reshape the cloud market. The winner could be either Google Drive or SkyDrive. The loser could be Dropbox.

(reported by Johnny Wills, edited by Dave Clark)

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