The Next Web

Google has just changed their pricing for storage, giving users double the capacity for exactly 25% of the price. Credit the cloud, but you can now store 20 gigabytes of data on Google a year, for just $5. It might as well be free.

Google credits the falling cost of storage to the rise of cloud computing. Google points to the ascendancy of netbooks and “net centric hardware,” for making cloud storage a vital component of data use and the larger internet.

The 20 gigabytes that Google is selling, which is enough space for 10,000 5 mega pixels photos, is only one of their new pricing tiers. Google has plans up to a full 16 terabytes. Spring for that and you can store a 8 million full resolution photos.

Even Adam Jackson doesn’t have that many. This move by Google makes two larger points: cloud storage is rapidly approaching a negligible marginal cost by the gigabyte, and Google understands the rising power of the netbook.

But there is something much larger afoot. Bring back everything that you know about Chrome OS, which has long been targeted at lighter-weight computers with limited physical storage. Translation: netbooks.

This move by Google to slash the price of data storage is a move that is paving the way for Chrome OS to function as a full power operating system. This lets Chrome OS machines to drop nearly all the need for physical storage, enabling devices to be smaller and cost less.

This move also impacts the future of Android. Given the tight integration between Android and other Google services, this move makes Android just one step better, or closer to being equal to the iPhone than before. More storage at less cost for the Android power user.

At ten cents pergigabytefor a stand-alonehard drive, the new Google storage is about a 250% price rise. But, factor into the equation that Google storage comes pre backed-up, and is accessiblefrom all your devices; the cost differential goes away. That means, for some people, cloud and physical storage just hit total cost parity. That is a big damn deal.

Of course, Google might be subsidizing this in the short-term, but the trend is plain, cloud storage is going to become faster, cheaper, and more reliable.

You can see all the Google storage options here.

Tweetdeck was removed from the App Store on Friday due to “some people reporting problems with the upgraded version crashing”.

Tweetdeck took the decision to pull the app before the problem became too widespread. After fixing the issue, the latest version was resubmitted to the store and after a typical delay, is now available for download.

This latest release has Facebook written all over it:

• Post status updates to Facebook
• Create Facebook groups (synchronized)
• Video record & upload for 3gs
• Video background uploader
• Facebook account support
• Cross post text & media to twitter & Facebook
• Nearby tweets column
• Sent DM’s column
• HashTag to Search column
• bit.ly account
• Reply to All & RE – in ref to
• Open in Safari
• Landscape compose
• Light Theme
• 2username address picker
• List of recent hashtags
• Compose improvements (clear, save, dm)

If you haven’t already, check your iTunes/iPhone updates, and if you haven’t tried the app yet, you can get it here, it’s good and it’s free.

The heavily anticipated, hyped, and well received Droid moved anestimated100,000 units in its opening weekend.

This shows both strength in the smartphone market, and continuing demand for smart phones that are not the popular iPhone. More broadly, Motorola, manufacturer of the Droid, expects to sell one million phones running Android in the fourth quarter of 2009.

They expect to sell ten million in the year 2010.

Of course, the iPhone in its various iterations has have had better inital sales weekends, but the Droid’s launch is being hailed as a success.

Cellphone enthusiasts are attracted to the technological capacity of the phone, and smartphone users turned off by the lack of a physical keyboard on the iPhone, have been contemplating the move.

If the Droid can continue its sales momentum, it will quickly become the best-selling Android phone, at least moving forward. Recall how long it took the G1 to reach one million in sales.

Apple had best glance over its shoulder, the latest competitor in the smartphone race just might be gaining ground.