Google Drive at Launch: First Impressions and Pricing

What the writer hoped for

The writer loved cloud storage and already used Google services, including Instant Upload with Google+, Docs, Gmail and Play Music. What was missing was one place to tie them together. The hope was for a single view of all Google files, perhaps even mounted like a cloud drive on the phone.

What arrived

The Drive app looked just like Docs with new names. The visible gains were 5 GB of free space instead of 1 GB and a desktop client that syncs files like Dropbox. Some users had to retry the Android update a few times before it appeared.

The pricing change

Plan	Cost per GB per year
Old: $5 a year for 20 GB	25 cents
New: $30 a year for 25 GB	$1.20
New: $60 a year for 100 GB	$0.60

Even the 100 GB plan cost more than double the old rate. The writer accepted that the new prices were close to competitors but objected that no one explained the increase. Existing customers on the old plan were told it would be honoured, not just for the term but indefinitely.

The terms of service worry

Some critics said Google’s terms of service let the company use stored files. The writer pointed to another passage saying users keep the rights to their content, and suggested criticism should focus on real actions such as the price rise.