Google Docs bumps up free storage to 5GB, primes servers for Drive?

Is space at a premium in your Google Docs folder? Good news from Mountain View, then, as it's just stealth-increased the storage allowance for its cloud-based document editor. Unfortunately, anyone that's already plumped for a paid extension of their Google Docs storage won't see an extra 5GB on top. This new storage limit also tallies with what we're expecting to see from Google Drive -- presumably pretty soon.

BYD intros dual-mode electric Qin vehicle, Remote Driving key for outside-the-car operation

The New York Auto Show may be done and over with, but the 2012 Beijing International Auto Show is just hitting its stride. Predictably, BYD is in attendance, and it's got a couple of new gizmos out on the red carpet. For starters, there's the Qin (pronounced "Chin," not Kin), a dual-mode electric vehicle that includes seven percent better efficiency, power and energy-saving in pure EV mode compared to the first generation's F3DM system. All told, the vehicle can scoot some 31 miles on a single 10KWh charge, and in hybrid mode, it can use both its 110KW electric motor and its 1.5 Turbo engine to output some 223KW of power and 440Nm of torque. For the technophiles, the car is also equipped with an intelligent cloud system platform, which incorporates things like "telematics, cloud-computing and a full-range of services 24 hours a day (like roadside assistance, vehicle positioning, remote monitoring, music and video downloads etc.)."

As if that weren't enough, the outfit's showcasing a new Remote Driving Controller for its F3 Plus, which enables owners to perform a variety of driving functions -- moving it forward / back, turning left / right and traveling at a "restricted speed" -- without having the owner inside of the vehicle. Naturally, we're anxiously awaiting a test unit of our own. Or, for a wave of lawsuits -- whichever comes first.

Onavo Extend stretches your data plan, now with CDMA/LTE support

What's Onavo Extend you ask? It's a free app that lets you save money on your data plan by compressing unencrypted data between your device and the web. The result is that you consume up to five times less data -- convenient when you're on a tiered / capped data plan, when you're roaming abroad or when you're on a slower 2G network. In addition, the app keeps track of how much data (and money) you save and which apps use that data. This works by setting up a local proxy server (and changing your APN), then connecting to the company's back end which accesses the internet on your behalf.

Onavo Extend -- which was released for iOS last year and was launched on Android (Ice Cream Sandwich) at Mobile World Congress -- is gaining CDMA/LTE support today for the new iPad and the iPhone 4S on Verizon and Sprint. We first experienced the app at the Google booth in Barcelona and we've been using it on and off since. We've tested it on several devices, including a Galaxy Nexus HSPA+and an unlocked iPhone 4S on T-Mobile's network (EDGE only) and it works pretty much as advertised. Want to find out more? Hit the break for a demo video along with the obligatory PR.

Google back in the smartphone sales game: unlocked Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ (GSM) available for $399

Hang on to your kneecaps, folks. Google's just announced that it's making the Galaxy Nexus HSPA+available in its Play web store for $399 contract-free. That's right: the unlocked, unbranded, pure Google, 16GB GSM version everyone's been importing from foreign lands far and near is now officially available in the US -- booyah! The handset ships with Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and comes with Google Wallet pre-installed (including a $10 credit to get you started with the company's mobile payment service).

As a refresher, it's not Google's first time in the smartphone sales game. The company made the Nexus One available on its own website in 2010 before pulling the plug and then partnering with Best Buy to sell the Nexus S later that year. One of the problems with the Nexus One was support -- or lack thereof. Google's assured us things will be different this time and it will be offering proper support for its Nexus flagship. We sure hope so.

The Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ is on sale now for $399 (plus taxes and two-day shipping) in the new Devices section of the Play web store. It's a phenomenal deal for one of the best Android phones on the market today -- especially when you consider it provides 21Mbps HSPA+ with great battery life (unlike the"fake" Nexus) and no commitment on your choice of AT&T or T-Mobile. So go ahead, stick it to the carriers and get a taste of dumb-pipe utopia -- delicious, isn't it?

Google Drive official: 5GB of free storage, Chrome web apps, Wave-like sharing

If it happened any other way, it just wouldn't be as satisfying, now would it? After years of leaks, murmurs, hubbub and other familiar synonyms, Google's mythical cloud storage platform is now official... sort of. As Lady Fate would have it, the company apparently outed a memo of the features on its French blog earlier today, but before it could yank the 'pull' switch, an eagle-eyed reader managed to grab the text and run it through -- surprise, surprise -- Google Translate. What's left is an official-as-you'll-get-right-now transcript of Google Drive's features, but contrary to the hype, it all feels way more enterprise-centric than consumers may have wanted. For starters, there's no real mention of music (we guess Google Music is on its own, there), and there's just 5GB of free storage for "documents, videos, photos, Google Docs, PDFs, etc." According to the brief, it's designed to let users "live, work and play in the cloud," with direct integration with Docs and Google+.

We're also told that Drive can be installed on one's Mac, PC or Android phone / tablet, while an iOS version will be "available in the coming weeks." Of note, Google's making this accessible to visually impaired consumers with the use of a screen reader. As for features? Naturally, Google's flexing its search muscles in as many ways as possible; if you scan in a newspaper clipping, a simple Search All within Drive will allow results to appear directly from said clipping. If you upload a shot of the Eiffel Tower, it'll show up whenever you search for the aforesaid icon. Moreover, Drive will allow folks to open over 30 types of documents directly from a web browser, including HD video, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop and more -- "even without the software installed on your computer." For those concerned about access, the new platform will have the same infrastructure as any other Google Apps services, giving admins a familiar set of management tools on that end.

On the topic of storage, just 5GB are provided gratis, with 25GB costing $2.49 per month, 100GB running you $4.99 per month and 1TB demanding $49.99 per month, with a maximum of 16TB ($799.99 per month, if you're curious) per user; thankfully, Google Docs will not be included in your usage total. Finally, the note played up the ability to "attach documents directly into your Drive Gmail," and given that it's intended to be an open platform, Goog's promising to work with third party developers in order to enhance Drive's functionality even further. The source link below is still dead as of right now, but it simply can't be long before the lights are officially turned on. Oh, and if you're not enamored at the moment, the outfit's suggesting that "many more developments" will be arriving in the coming weeks.

Update: It's live on the Google Play store, and a pair of explanatory videos are embedded after the break!

Google raises Gmail to 10GB free, 10-times increase since launching in 2004

Eight years ago one gigabyte of online storage was a remarkable thing. One gigabyte of email? Preposterous, but that's exactly what Google offered back in 2004 with the launch of Gmail, and now that factor is increasing. Current Gmail users were floating at around 7.5GB of storage but, as part of all the Google Drive hoopla, that storage is now officially up to 10GB. That's a lot of spam and, for those of us who are already paying extra for more storage, it's even more room to grow before we upgrade to the next tier.

Google Drive vs. the competition: pricing plans and perks, compared

Sometimes a table says a thousand words. Now that Google has finally announced its cloud service,Google Drive, we're sure more than a few of you are crunching the numbers in your head in an attempt to figure which is the best deal. Far be it for us to tell you which service to use when we've barely had a chance to poke around Drive, but for now, better if we lay out those gigabytes and dollars in number form, rather than squeeze them into a crowded paragraph, don'tcha think? Follow past the break for a brief breakdown of what you'll get from Google, along with Dropbox, Microsoft SkyDrive and iCloud.

Google Drive preview: an in-depth look at features and functionality

It's been a long time in the making, but the once-mythical cloud storage service known to all as Google Drive is real, and it made its official debut today -- and even though Goog's taken plenty of time to make it available to the masses, our impatience certainly got the worst of us, and we immediately started digging through the new service. So what does this online storage option entail? Will it make you delete your Dropbox and SkyDrive accounts and jump for joy? Or has Google simply waited too long to start playing the game? Read on to find out our first impressions.

Spotify previews overhauled Android app

We'll be the first to admit that we were a little disappointed when yesterday's "special announcement" turned into a bit of a Coca-Cola / Spotify lovefest. And while it's not the iPad app that many iOS music lovers have been clamoring for, Android users have a Spotify-related reason to rejoice this morning. The service's app is getting an overhaul for Google's mobile OS, a full redesign that includes, among other things, full support for Ice Cream Sandwich. Also on the Android docket are new navigation, added social features and hi-res artwork. The app is currently available as a preview. Spotify's promising even more features -- like Last.fm scrobbling -- before it hits the Google Play store. No word yet on exactly when that might be.

Mozilla: Brazilians to get first phones running Boot to Gecko

We got to fiddle with Mozilla's HTML5-based mobile OS, Boot to Gecko, for the first time a couple of months ago, and found it to be a promising platform, but one that wasn't ready for prime-time. However, it appears that Brazilians on Telefonica will get the first crack at buying BtG phones, and the handsets are set to go on sale by the end of this year or in early 2013. The good news -- for our South American readers, at least -- came from Gary Kovacs, Mozilla's CEO, who made the announcement in São Paulo today. Unfortunately, Kovacs failed to say what kind of hardware will run the web-based OS, but Pablo Larrieux, the chief innovation officer of Telefonica Vivo, indicated that the handsets will be unlocked and priced to move: they'll cost as much as a featurephone.

New Spotify for Android preview (hands-on)

In case you hadn't heard, Spotify's finally given its Android app the update love it deserves. It's looking for feedback in the form of an app preview, available to download now -- if you're willing to install from "unknown sources". The update is a top-to-bottom refresh, bringing the sort of functions (lockscreen player?) we've been patiently waiting for, all wrapped up in Android's Holo theme. How does it all fare? Step beyond the break to see.

How your company will control your Windows RT Tablet

Windows on ARM really opens up the world of Windows to some great hardware. So great in fact that you'll probably have to buy one yourself if you want one to use at work. But a time will come where you'll want to get your work email and maybe even an app or two. You might already realize that by adding an ActiveSync email account to your tablet opens your new device up to restrictions by your system administrator -- like requiring a lock screen password or the ability to remotely wipe it – and in the Windows x86 world, your company uses things like an Active Directory (AD) Domain and its Group Policies to lock things down. But, AD isn't an option for Windows RT. According to the Building Windows 8 blog, Microsoft has instead built in the ability to connect to the company network to access apps, while at the same time, gives the admin the ability to control all the familiar AD security settings like bad password attempts, complexity requirements and can even verify your anti-malware software status. Of course if you leave the company or just want to use your tablet without entering a password, you can always break the tie and regain control of the security.