We’ve seen a number of major online companies working to build up their cloud storage services over the past year in an effort to entice new customers into their fold and there is even new rumours that Google themselves are getting ready to launch their own storage locker known simply as Google Drive.
Microsoft has been an early entry into this field with their SkyDrive service and recently, the Redmond company has been busy working on enhancing the features of their own service. In the last year, we’ve seen Microsoft expand the range of SkyDrive apps releasing them for iOS and Windows Phone and we’ve also seen improvements in the integration of the Windows Phone app in their Mango OS. Then, lets also not forget about the efforts that Microsoft has put in to ensure better functionality with HTML5 video.
Today, it would seem that Microsoft would like to extend the capabilities of SkyDrive even further by releasing new apps and allowing users to buy more storage space. To begin with, the apps that are on their way will be for Mac OS X as well as for the Windows desktop. It’s also important to clarify that this is not the LiveMesh product, but rather new enhancements for SkyDrive that are on the way.
In terms of the storage space, Microsoft already gives away 25GB of free space. However, users will now have the option of buying additional space with 20GB, 50GB and 100GB retailing for $11/year, $27/year and $54/year respectively. It’s clear that Microsoft sees cloud technology as the direction of the future and their new offerings are aimed squarely at other cloud storage providers such as Apple’s iCloud and Dropbox.
