For the past couple of months there have been rumors that Google plans to launch its own cloud-based data storage service. Today TheNextWeb.com reports that the service, called Google Drive, could launch as early as next week, possibly Tuesday or Wednesday.
The article claims it has received information about the launch and Google Drive"s features from an unnamed partner. According to the site, Google Drive will launch with 5 GB of free cloud storage space for each user. That"s higher than the 1 GB of free space that was previously rumored and also higher than Dropbox"s free 2 GB space. However the amount is much smaller than the 25 GB of free cloud data space for users of Microsoft"s Skydrive service.
The article adds that Google Drive will allow users to purchase additional storage space. The client will work inside desktop folder space for both the Windows and Mac version of the service.
As we have previously reported, Google co-founder Larry Page worked with a team back in 2007 to develop what was then called "G Drive". While the plan was to launch "G Drive" in late 2007, Google never followed through on those plans. Since that time the cloud data storage marketplace has exploded with services like Dropbox, Box and Skydrive all offering these kind of services.