Hasta La Gadget!

Google Drive for Android received a big update today with “a clean, simple card-style” layout, as well as the ability to scan documents, receipts, bills, etc. The new feature also comes with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology that will allow you to easily search for said documents later, thanks to the ability for Google Drive to recognize text in a scanned document.

This is a huge boost for Google Drive, in a way that the service can now be used as a digital file cabinet of sorts, whereas before it was merely just a cloud storage system to stash all of your Google Docs and other various files. With document scanning, Google Drive takes Evernote and other note-taking apps head on.

The feature is pretty self-explanatory, in that you simply tap the “+” sign to add a file and tap on “Scan.” From there, you take a snapshot of a physical document and Google Drive will automatically save it as a PDF file and upload it to your Drive account. You can also crop and rotate the snapshot before you upload it to your Drive.

Currently, Evernote remains one of the top note-taking and document-archiving services around, and its scanning abilities, as well as its OCR text recognition is one of Evernote’s most popular features. Google Drive can certainly give Evernote a run for its money, especially since it automatically saves docs as a PDF and you can download them easily — Evernote can do the same, but it’s a bit tricky to figure out at first.

Of course, we can’t forget about Google Keep, which is the search giant’s new note-taking app that also competes with Evernote. Keep allows users to scan business cards, although it hasn’t been touted as one of the bigger features of the app. In any case, this changes the game for Google Drive, and makes archiving physical documents a whole lot easier — a process that we would never think about using Google Drive for in the past.

As for other new features in this Android update, there’s a new grid view that shows thumbnails of your various files. The app also now includes the ability to download files locally to your phone, but it requires Android 3.0 Honeycomb and higher. Furthermore, the Spreadsheet editor now supports changing fonts, colors, and cell alignment. And as always, there are a handful of bugfixes and general performance improvements. The update is available now.

VIA: Google Drive Blog

Google Drive for Android updates with document scanning is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Microsoft has given SkyDrive another update, this one tailored towards the type of content it says it is primarily used for – photographs. With this update, which is rolling out now and will reach users within the next 48 hours, there’s a new photo timeline, as well as faster uploads, a switched up thumbnail layout, and thumbnails for Word and PowerPoint files.

You can check out the new photo timeline by heading over to SkyDrive, or via the image below if the update hasn’t rolled your way yet. Photographs are sorted in a way that aggregates them based on album and time. For example, one batch of images taken an hour or two before a second batch will show up in its own separate collection, making it easier to find images. Navigation can be accessed via month in yearly groupings. There’s also a filmstrip view (above) for watching them in a slideshow.

That change aside, users will also find that uploading photographs using SkyDrive’s desktop application will be faster after the update arrives. According to Microsoft, this change is to address feedback it has received from users about how long it took to upload images, resulting in changes to both server code and the application itself. Uploads are said to be 2x to 3x faster.

Using thumbnails, users can find the file they’re looking for faster by narrowing in on the ones related to the application to which it pertains. To facilitate this, there’s a new layout for thumbnails, and beyond that the addition of thumbnails for both PowerPoint and Word files, adding to the rate at which items be located.

As we noted earlier this week, Microsoft also recently announced that full-resolution SkyDrive image and videos uploads for Windows Phone users was going global, giving users in previously unavailable markets access to the feature. Says the SkyDrive update notice, this feature has now officially be rolled out across the global for all users.

SOURCE: Windows

Microsoft updates SkyDrive with faster uploads and photo timeline is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Google has announced that it’ll be changing the way it does cloud storage across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google+. Instead of each service having it’s own allotted amount of space. All three will be joined together and will share a pool of 15GB of cloud storage space, allowing Google Drive users to essentially have more free space than the previous 5GB that was originally offered.

This is essentially part of an ongoing effort from the search giant to further streamline all of its services and integrate them with one another, creating a seamless ecosystem of Google services. Instead of 10GB in Gmail for attachments and email messages and 5GB for documents and other media in Google Drive, the two are coming together to share amongst each other, as well as Google+ Photos joining the party.

This is good news for users who need more storage for one service more than the other. For example, I store a lot of photos and documents on Google Drive, but my Gmail bin is barely full. With the unified storage, I’ll now have more room in Google Drive for more photos and documents without sacrificing space in Gmail.

However, this means that Google is getting rid of one of its storage plans. You’ll no longer be able to grab 25GB of extra space for $2.50 per month. If you currently have that plan, Google will allow you to keep it until you cancel or change to another plan. After that, you won’t be able to opt for the 25GB plan any more. The cheapest plan now is an additional 100GB for $4.99 per month, which is half the price that Dropbox charges currently.

If you’re a Google Apps user, these changes will also take affect for you, but instead of 15GB of shared storage, you’ll receive a 30GB pool of storage to share amongst the three Google services. To make sure that you know how much storage you’re using for each service, Google will include a handy pie chart that breaks down the amount of storage your using for either Gmail, Drive, or Google+ Photos. Frankly, we’re not too surprised by this move, and we’ve been wondering when Google would finally make a move like this. It’s always been a shame that we could never use our Gmail storage for Google Drive, but finally, that’s changed.

SOURCE: Google Drive Blog

Google unifies 15GB of shared storage for Gmail, Drive and Google+ is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Amazon has launched its Cloud Drive Photos app on iOS today, joining the Android app as a solution for avid mobile photo snappers to automatically have their creations uploaded in the cloud and organized for sharing and viewing. The app looks to take on Apple’s Photo Steam iCloud feature, as well as Google’s and Dropbox’s solutions.

The new app from Amazon can automatically upload photos that you take with your iPhone directly to your Amazon Cloud Drive, and within the app, all your photos will be organized and ready to browse or share. However, just like with Dropbox’s automatic photo upload feature, it only works when the app is open due to limitations within iOS.

The Android version of the app launched back in November, and unlike iOS users, the app is able to upload photos directly to Amazon’s Could Drive whether the app is open or not. However, unlike Apple’s Photo Stream, you can view the photos in a web browser from any computer, just like with Dropbox and even Google Drive, which begs the question: Is Amazon’s cloud offerings good enough to take on Google and Dropbox?

Amazon offers users 5GB for free to start out with, and paid options are available for those who need more storage space (plans start at 20GB for $10 per year). With Google Drive, you also get 5GB free, with paid options starting at just $2.49 per month for 25GB). As for Dropbox, you start off with a measly 2GB for free, but can upgrade for $10 per month, which will land you 100GB. So, all of these options clearly offer different paying schemes, but if you’re already invested in Amazon’s ecosystem, the addition of Cloud Drive Photos will be a welcomed.

VIA: PC Mag

SOURCE: iTunes App Store

Amazon Cloud Drive Photos for iOS takes on Google, Dropbox and Apple is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Similar to the feature for Android users that allows images and videos to be backed up to their Google account, Microsoft offers full-resolution image and video backup to SkyDrive for Windows Phone 8 users. While handy, the feature wasn’t universally available to all users, leaving some without the convenience it poses. That changes today, with the company announcing that full-resolution backups will be available in all markets.

The full-resolution backup ability will soon be available everywhere, with some Windows Phone 8 users who were previously unable to use the feature already seeing it. Those who haven’t gained the ability yet are told to be patient, with Microsoft saying that it has “just start to light it up.” You should see the feature by this weekend, however, according to the company’s timeline.

Those with access will need to enable the feature in order to use it, which is done via the device’s menus. Head into Photos, then More. Tap Settings -> SkyDrive. Those who have gained the new ability will see a different SkyDrive Storage screen than the one they previously had, with the new one including the option “Best quality” under both Photos and Videos.

Select the box for both options if you want to upload full-resolution of both images and videos, or only select one if, for example, you’re only interested in image backup. You’ll notice a snippet that says Wi-Fi is required in order to utilize full-resolution backups, meaning it’ll happen when you’re connected to your wireless network. This is to keep your phone bill from skyrocketing.

[via Windows]

Windows Phone 8 gains full-resolution video and image SkyDrive backups worldwide is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.