Well, the word is that Google Drive is now out in the wild.  So, how does it fare?  Well, if Lifehacker’s article “File Syncing Faceoff: Dropbox vs. Google Drive” is any indication, I’ll keep on using Dropbox.

Apparently, Google went to great lengths to make it even look similar to Dropbox and not just make it functionally equivalent.  However, not everything really is functionally equivalent, it seems:

Once it downloads all your files, you’ll see them in your Google Drive folder, just like Dropbox. Each has a green checkmark if it’s synced, or a blue refresh icon if it’s currently syncing. Items created in Google Docs have their own special icons, and can only be opened in Google Docs….

Say what?  I went to a lot of trouble installing Docs To Go on my iPhone (review pending) in order to be able to open items on my iPhone and not in Google Docs!  This is a deal breaker already, if you ask me.  While Google Docs does a decent job at many of its apps, they really do look and behave differently than in MS Office.

There are some other more minor (IMO) items that Lifehacker points out as well, so don’t consider this a rehash and skip their article, please.  Not all of them are downers, either, as Google Drive will come with 5GB already free, and disk space is always an attraction for those who need it.

Microsoft used to be euphemistically called “the evil empire”, but these days it is Google that wants to dominate the world.  There are always new territories to take over, so Google keeps busy.  They are now moving into the cloud storage realm with Google Drive.

I’ve been using Dropbox a lot lately, and it is a nice and handy cross platform tool.  It sounds like Google Drive plans on working in a similar fashion.  However, Dropbox currently only offers 2GB free.  Google Drive plans on rolling out with 5GB free.  You’ll be able to upgrade for more space, but prices are not yet available.

Competition is always a good thing, but I wonder if Google is going to provide a polished product or if it will, like too many of their products, offer a half-baked solution.  I guess we will see next week.

I wrote not long ago about using Dropbox in “Backup Considerations 2: Using Dropbox (and Comparisons to Other File Sharing Services)”.  I did not include iCloud in the mix, but it has become quite popular because of its integration into iTunes.  I’m not convinced that it is yet really something I’d want to use for mundane types of files, however, nor have I tried.

However, even as immature as iCloud is, it may already be facing its worst competitor.  The Telegraph recently posted the article “Google Drive cloud storage coming ‘soon’”.  It will synchronize content with Android devices.  This means Apple and Google will both have services that sort of tie the users into them through the devices they use.  Will this strategy work for either?  Only time will tell.