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Yesterday we told you how Google Docs is inching closer to being the mythical "Gdrive." Today Google announced that users can now buy up to 16 terabytes of storage for $4,096.00 per year. The storage can be used with Gmail, Picasa Web Albums and Google Docs. Those that don't need quite that much can choose from cheaper options:

• 20 GB ($5.00 per year)
• 80 GB ($20.00 per year)
• 200 GB ($50.00 per year)
• 400 GB ($100.00 per year)
• 1 TB ($256.00 per year)
• 2 TB ($512.00 per year)
• 4 TB ($1,024.00 per year)
• 8 TB ($2,048.00 per year)
• 16 TB ($4,096.00 per year)

Last year, Google began allowing users to upload docs of any file format up to 250 MB in size to Google Docs, turning the service from simply an online word processor into a cloud storage service. Today, the company has unveiled a number of user interface changes for Google Docs that continues the move toward becoming the mythical "Gdrive" - a cloud-based file storage service.

Google Cloud Picker is an upcoming Google feature, accidentally revealed by confused users on various Google product forums who had trouble getting it to work with their Google Apps accounts. Later, TechCrunch happened upon the postings, and published details for all to see, prompting a public statement from Google which essentially said "oops." Nope, we weren't meant to see this yet.

So what is Cloud Picker? Apparently, it's a storage product that ties together several of Google's services - YouTube, Docs, Maps and Picasa photos - to allow for easy insertion of media into other Google services like Blogger and Google Sites. Wait, a Google storage product? Isn't that Gdrive?

Memeo, the company behind a host of backup, sharing and synchronization tools and mobile applications, has just launched Memeo Connect 2.0, an updated version of its earlier desktop-to-cloud synchronization service for Google Docs.

Like its progenitor, Memeo Connect still offers drag-and-drop uploads, but in the latest release, the application's operating system integration has been dramatically improved. Most notably, your Google Docs folder now appears as a virtual drive that Memeo labels "GDrive", and, according to company representatives, the name is being used with Google's blessing.

Gladinet, a desktop software program aimed at connecting users to their online storage, is fast becoming the go-to program for Windows users looking to map desktop drives to their favorite web services. Already, users of the software have been able to add network drives that connect to Amazon's S3, Box.net, and Windows Live SkyDrive, among others. Additionally, the program makes cloud to cloud backup and migration between services as easy as drag-and-drop.

Today, the company is announcing the addition of Google Storage, a service nicknamed "GDrive" among Internet users, to its lineup of supported options.

Google just announced dramatically reduced prices for their online storage options via a post on the company's Official Google Blog. The new rates give you 20 GB for $5 per year, or, as Google puts it "twice as much storage for a quarter of the old price." The new options also let you expand your storage all the way up to 16 TB if need be. As always, these extra storage options are available once you reach the limit of your free storage.

However, the system still only works with Gmail and the photo-sharing service Picasa. There's no mention of it expanding to encompass other Google services like Google Docs, for example. And there's definitely no mention of the seemingly mythical GDrive, the long-rumored online storage system supposedly under development which would allow for the upload of any file type for safe storage in the cloud. We're beginning to wonder: will Google ever offer us a real cloud storage solution?

In this edition of the Weekly Wrapup - our newsletter summarizing the top stories of the week - we analyze why Amazon spent nearly a billion dollars to purchase online shoe shop Zappos, explain why IBM is an early leader in the Internet of Things, investigate whether the Google Chrome OS will finally deliver us the mythical GDrive, look at why Barnes & Noble is a worthy challenger to Amazon's eBook empire, and more. We also check in on our two new channels: ReadWriteEnterprise (devoted to 'enterprise 2.0' trends and products) and ReadWriteStart (dedicated to profiling startups and entrepreneurs).

Note: this week ReadWriteWeb released our second premium report: our Q2 2009 VC Funding Report. Full details below...

Last week, Google announced some interface changes to their Google Docs service that are designed to make finding your files easier. The changes are relatively minor - the "shared with" list has gone away, there's a new "Sharing" menu, and you now have the ability to save your searches - but that hasn't stopped some bloggers from theorizing that the shiny new UI is bringing us one step closer to the often theorized, yet never realized, "Google Drive" service, aka "your hard drive in the cloud."

Although we know this service exists in some form as an internal tool, Google has yet to release a version for public use. But with the latest announcements about the new Chrome operating system, we wonder: will Google Drive finally become a reality thanks to Chrome OS?

At this point, most signs point toward Google releasing its rumored GDrive in the near future. In many ways, this mythical GDrive is simply the missing puzzle piece in Google's online strategy. While Google offers a number of online services with a storage component, it still doesn't offer a unified storage solution that brings Gmail, Picasa Web Albums, and Google Docs together.