Google Docs and Gmail Also Receiving Capacity Increase

Google is now increasing the storage capacity of Google Docs from 1 GB to 5 GB prior to the Google Drive rollout.

Google's virtual locker -- Google Drive -- offers 5 GB of free online storage and additional paid capacities. To go along with that, the search engine giant has reportedly increased the online capacity of Google Docs from 1 GB to 5 GB. CNET's Lance Whitney confirms that his personal Docs account was upgraded to the new limit, but my personal account still reads as 1 GB. The Verge claims that the capacity increase will be a staggered rollout which explains why some have the new 5 GB limit and others currently don't.

So why would Google increase the virtual capacity of Docs when it's getting ready to provide an additional 5 GB via Google Drive? The search engine giant may have something in particular planned for Google Drive, thus adding more storage in Docs so that users can save Google Drive locker space for something other than documents.

There's no question that the virtual drive wars have begun. On Monday Dropbox announced that it added public linking to its service, allowing users to share files in read-only mode to friends and family who are not Dropbox members.

"Anyone with the link gets access to a snazzy page where they can view (but not edit) your stuff," the company said in a blog. "Our gallery pages give your photos, videos, and even docs the gorgeous, full-browser view they deserve. This means that people who follow your link can see pictures, look at presentations, and watch home videos without having to download and open them separately."

This week Microsoft also beefed up its SkyDrive service, upgrading current users with 25 GB of free storage and launching three paid services. There's also a new Windows-based client that allows users to treat their virtual locker as a local drive appearing in Windows Explorer. The software also serves as a cloud server so that users can access their files from a remote device.

UPDATE: Google has also increased the capacity of Gmail. Google software engineer Nicholas Behrens said in the official Gmail blog on Tuesday that the search engine giant has upgraded everyone's account from 7.5 GB to 10 GB in celebration of Google Drive's launch. The increase will take effect over the news 24 hours, he said.