Google set to announce Apple iCloud competitor?

Google plans to enter the cloud based storage service with Google Drive. The service is expected to be active in the coming weeks as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Like Dropbox, the service is expected to tap the "cloud storage" market where users can access their content on the go with their smartphones, tablets or even third party computers with the help of a simple app and an Internet connection.

Drive is expected to have limited storage available to users for free. Users will be able to purchase additional storage at a cost, something that's been tried and tested by Dropbox. The limit of free storage and cost of additional storage is still unknown. Users will be able to store any content they wish, be it photos, videos docs, etc. on Drive.

The Wall Street Journal also reports that users will also have the ability to upload a file through the Drive mobile app and share the link with people rather than sending it across as an attachment.

As of November 2011, Dropbox has recorded 45 million users and Apple's iCloud has 85 million users as of January 2012, so it's easy to understand why Google wants a bite of the cloud storage pie.

Another interesting fact that remains to be seen is how Google integrates Drive with its existing services such as Google+, Google Docs, Gmail, so on and so forth.

Google Drive will enter a market crowded with the likes of iCloud, box.net, Dropbox and Microsoft SkyDrive to name a few.