Google Said To Be Launching IaaS Cloud Services At Google I/O

Sources at GigaOm state that Google will be releasing their own IaaS (infrastructure as a service) cloud solution next week at Google I/O. This move would extend their current cloud services, like app engine, cloud connect, and storage, and allow users to rent virtual servers from the folks in Mountain View, bringing them in close competition with cloud giant Amazon.

In this scenario, two things come right to the front of our minds ChromeOS and Google Docs (Drive). Both services could be great front-ends for a cloud infrastructure that's set up by the user, especially in the enterprise. Imagine a corporate portal that you connect to as soon as you fire up your Chromebook, and your own IT department manages it all. Then imagine you can also connect with your Android phone. This could be a really big deal™.

Google Drive And Android App Go Live

Google Drive is no longer a secret, as the Google Drive Android app is now live in the Play Store and the description gives us a great idea of what to expect.

As expected, Google Drive will be a Dropbox and Box competitor, as you’ll get some free cloud storage space to store your files. The official announcement went live a few seconds ago and it offers 5 GB of storage for free. You can also buy additional storage for a fee and this includes 100 GB for $4.99 a month, dramatically cheaper than the competition.

The app’s description also gives us some solid details. This is an evolution of Google Docs, so you can collaborate on the files in your Google Drive account. You can also open up multiple file types (including video) in a browser. Naturally, you’ll also have strong search capabilities including the ability to search through scanned documents with OCR technology.

Keep everything. Share anything.

*** Google Docs is now a part of Google Drive! ***

* Keep everything. Share anything.
* With Google Drive, you can store all your files in one place, so you can access them from anywhere and share them with others
* Use the Google Drive Android app to access your photos, documents, videos and other files stored on your Google Drive
* Upload files to Google Drive directly from your Android device
* Share any file with your contacts
* Access files others have shared with you on Google Drive
* Make any file available offline so you can access them even when you don’t have an Internet connection
* Create and edit Google documents with rich text formatting
* Edits to your Google documents appear to collaborators in seconds
* Make quick changes to spreadsheets
* View your PDFs, presentations and more
* Upload and convert files to the Google Docs format
* Take a photo of printed text and convert it to a Google document
* Optimized experience to take advantage of larger screens for tablet users, Honeycomb (Android 3.0+)

The Google Drive service is live at drive.google.com and you can download the Android app here. Google also says that an iPhone and iPad version are coming soon.

Quickoffice Launches Its Own Cloud Service Connect

Everyone’s about cloud these days so why would Quickoffice be any different. It isn’t and it’s launching a cloud service of its own Connect by Quickoffice, allowing users to access and search across a number of cloud services and devices, regardless of operating system. At the same time, the solution provides users with a “fluid” online and offline document creating, editing, syncing and sharing experience.

Device wise, Quickoffice users can access files on a Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, Android smartphone and tablet. As for the supported services, aside from Quickoffice’s own service, Connect also works with a number of popular third-party solutions, including Basecamp, Box, Catch, Dropbox, Egnyte, Evernote, Google Docs, Huddle, Microsoft SkyDrive, Springpad, SugarSync and WebDev. Finally, you can share your files via social networks like Docstoc, Facebook, LinkedIn, Slideshare, Scribd, Twitter and Yammer.

Connect comes with a native mobile application for iOS and Android, a PC or Mac desktop client and web portal for universal document and account management. The service automatically syncs documents to ensure the latest version is always available on any device.

When it comes to pricing, Quickoffice is offering Connect in three flavors: Basic, Premium and Professional, with the last mentioned costing $69.95 per year. During the limited time, Connect Premium will be available for a discounted price of $19.99/year (regular price is $44.99)