Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), with Chrome OS, has been trying to kill desktop software in lieu of a “cloud-based” approach to computing. This was taken a step further today for users of Gmail and, as a result, Google Drive. Today, saw yet another update to one of the world’s most popular email services, Gmail. With the update, users will be allowed to forgo the downloading of email attachments. Users may now save their files directly to Google Drive without having to ever leave their inbox.
The update comes a mere day following Google’s introduction of “Quick Action” buttons. Quick action buttons allow one click access to numerous features based on the content of a recently opened email. That could include reviewing restaurants based on your Open Table reservation or saving promotions from Google Offers.
With today’s roll-out, Gmail users will be presented with a number of thumbnail options including previews at the bottom of email messages. This applies to Office documents, photos, videos, PDFs and spreadsheets. A simple click will display the file in full-screen without needing to leave your inbox.
If there is no immediate need to view the file, the simple act of hovering over a preview will provide users with a Google Drive button that allows one-click saving for later use. This functionality even allows for the selection of the destination folder for later use. Thankfully, for those that aren’t able to live online and prefer a “hard copy” of the file, Google still allows you download the file the old-fashioned way. Essentially, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has added features to Gmail without taking anything away from the hundreds of millions who fear change.
Google continues to roll-out cloud services
As long as Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) continues to roll-out these cloud services, it will put additional pressure on Box, SkyDrive, Dropbox and others. Google has to be thinking that they can get more and more people using Google Drive rather than these other options, if people are saved a step or two. The use of Gmail and Dropbox makes less and less sense as Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) pushes interaction between native and complimentary services.
