It was always on the cards, and now Microsoft has just made it official. SkyDrive users can subscribe to a 200GB storage capacity option for the sweet, sweet price of $100 a year.
Power users of cloud storage should be pleased, as this new offer means that Redmond is now offering a more affordable option for users than its immediate competitor — Google Drive has an 100GB plan that can be availed for $120 a year.
Previously the storage limit on SkyDrive was 100GB for $50 a year.
The company expects many new Windows 8.1 users to come roaring to SkyDrive, as the ever improving cloud based storage service is built in deep into the upcoming OS. Microsoft’s new blog post, talked about this integration:
“With SkyDrive built right in to Windows 8.1, we’ve made it really easy to always have your files with you; and for many file types, SkyDrive is the default location for saving your files. We didn’t want you to worry about filling up your hard drive, so we invented smart files to allow you to access your entire SkyDrive from your device, without actually having to store everything locally.”
Redmond has also illustrated just how much storage this is in quite an interesting manner. The company notes in the above blog post that 200GB is enough space to take a store a photo of a person every hour since the time they are born to the time they graduate.
Wonder what happens to people that do drop out of college!
Obviously, people who purchase the Surface 2 or the Surface Pro 2 will also get free access to 200GB storage space on SkyDrive for two years. And with this new offer, everyone can now join in the fun.
All Comments
Ok…now this is absolutely insane! This is fantastic! Hey Microsoft, this just gets better and better! I’ve got a couple of clients who take pictures of their kids practically everyday. They are going to LOVE this and this benefit will push them over the edge in springing for a Surface Pro 2. Well done, Microsoft. Keep these features coming! (oh, and I really like the ‘dig’ about Google Drive charging $120 for 100GB!).
Ha, thanks! 😉 Google will probably revise it in the coming months, seeing as it is pitching its Google Drive service as a clear and direct competitor to SkyDrive.
You know, considering you get this free with the new Surface’s in addition to the Skype offering and the money saved by this, the prices don’t seem that bad at the end of the day (if you can afford one in the first place). That would be $200 saved for the additional SkyDrive storage, plus whatever the rate is for Skype’s deal (which I can’t remember at the moment).
Alas, I still cannot afford one.