Rumor: Google Drive May Finally Arrive in Early April

Google’s long-awaited and oft-rumored cloud storage service may actually almost be here, finally. GigaOM’s Om Malik cited “well-placed sources familiar with” Google’s plans that say Drive (or “GDrive”, or whatever it’ll be called) is coming in the first week of April.

If you’re keeping track, that’s next week.

Malik’s sources indicated that the cloud storage service will offer 1GB of free space (with fees charged for more capacity), a local client, and a Web interface. Initially, at least, the service will be for Google Apps customers--perhaps portending a classic Google years-long beta period--and there will be a third-party API available.


This alleged cloud storage product from Google has been teased for years with essentially nothing to show for it, so we won’t hold our breath waiting for a big announcement from the search giant next week. However, if Google wants to get in the consumer-focused cloud storage game, ASAP would be as good a time as any to stick its foot in the door.

We’re also curious: Would you trust Google as a cloud storage provider any more or less than other companies that offer similar services, such as Dropbox, SugarSync, Box.net, Mozy, and SpiderOak?