Google is now offering more storage space to its users for a range of its online services, however, it will be a paid service in the form of a yearly price plan.
Although the Gmail, Picasa, and Google Docs & Spreadsheets services are all free, the storage limits for Gmail and Picasa are 2.8GB and 1GB respectively.
While this is enough for most users, there is now an option to pay from US$20 a year for 6GBs up to US$500 for 250GB through Google Checkout, which would suit a home office or small business.
The extra storage will soon be usable across all the Google services, but for now is only available for Gmail and the online web album service, Picasa.
However, the user cannot set aside a certain amount of space per account. If you use both Gmail and Picasa, the first service to reach its free storage limit will automatically spill over into the paid-for storage.
In other news Google has decided to shut down its online premium video download service, telling subscribers in an email that they will not be refunded for content rented or purchased that they will now no longer be able to view.
Instead Google will transfer the credit over to Google Checkouts where it must be used within 60 days before it expires.
Google’s short-lived online video service offered downloads of TV shows like CSI, Star Trek and I love Lucy for a mere 20 months, having just launched in January of last year.
By Marie Boran
