Google Drive

Google is expected to shortly launch a major new consumer service offering cloud-based storage for photos and other online content.

The effort - dubbed Google Drive - is likely to offer 5GB (gigabytes) of free storage with more available for a monthly fee.It would challenge services including Dropbox and Microsoft's SkyDrive.

Experts suggest it could also force rival Facebook to enter the cloud market.

According to one suggestion the most important aspect of Google Drive would be how it worked with the myriad of devices people carried.