For years, some people who wanted to store files on remote servers in the cloud have been emailing the files to their Gmail accounts, or uploading them to Google‘s

lightly used Google Docs online productivity suite, even if they had no intention of editing them there.

Now, Google is formally jumping into the cloud-based file storage and syncing business, offering a service called Google Drive, which will compete with products like Dropbox and others by offering lower prices and different features. It works on multiple operating systems, browsers and mobile devices, including those of Google’s competitors Apple

and Microsoft

. There are apps for Windows, Mac and mobile devices that automatically sync files with Google Drive.

Google is jumping into the cloud-based file storage and syncing business, offering a service called Google Drive, by offering lower prices and different features. It works on multiple operating systems, browsers, and mobile devices. WSJ’s personal technology columnist, Walt Mossberg takes it for a drive.

I’ve been testing Google Drive, which launches today, and I like it. It subsumes the editing and file-creation features of Google Docs, and replaces Google Docs (though any documents you have stored there carry over). In my tests—on a Mac, a Lenovo PC, a new iPad and the latest Samsung

Android tablet—Google Drive worked quickly and well, and most of its features operated as promised. At launch, it’s available for Windows PCs, Macs and Android devices. The version for the iPhone and iPad is planned for release soon.

Google Drive, which can be found at drive.google.com, offers users 5 gigabytes of free storage, compared with 2 gigabytes free for the popular Dropbox, and equal to the free offering from another cloud storage and syncing service I like, SugarSync. That’s enough for thousands of typical documents, photos and songs.

Prices for additional storage drastically undercut Dropbox and SugarSync. For instance, 100 GB on Google Drive costs $4.99 a month. By contrast, 100 GB costs $14.99 monthly on SugarSync and $19.99 on Dropbox. Google Drive will offer huge capacities, in tiers, all the way up to 16 terabytes. (A terabyte is roughly 1,000 gigabytes.) And if you buy extra storage for Google Drive, your Gmail quota rises to 25 GB.

But one of Google’s biggest rivals isn’t standing still. Microsoft is expanding both the features and capacity of its little-known SkyDrive cloud storage service as well. That product started out as a free, fixed-capacity (25 gigabytes) online locker mostly for users of the stripped-down, cloud-based version of Microsoft Office, though it also has been available as an app for Windows Phone smartphones and for iPhones. It’s giving away even more free storage than Google—7 GB, though that is a cut from what it used to offer free. It also is charging less than Google. For instance, you can add 100 gigabytes for $50 a year. And users of the old version get to keep their 25-gigabyte free allotment. I wasn’t able to test this new version of SkyDrive for this column. It also is offering syncing apps for Windows and Mac.

Google Drive is meant as an evolution of Google Docs. While you could previously upload a file to Google Docs using your Web browser, for Google Drive, the company is providing free apps for Mac and Windows that, like Dropbox, do this for you. They create special folders that sync with your cloud-based repository and with the Web version of the product. So, you can drag a file into these local folders on your computer and that file will be uploaded to your cloud account and will rapidly appear in the Web version of Google Drive, in the Google Drive folders on your other computers, and in the Google Drive apps on Android, iPhone and iPad devices. These local apps also sync any changes to the files you make.

One big difference between Dropbox and Google Drive is you can edit or create files in the latter, rather than merely storing or viewing them. This is because Google Drive includes the rudimentary word processor, spreadsheet, presentation and other apps that make up Google Docs.

But there is a catch. If your stored document is in a Microsoft Office format, you can only view it. To edit it, you have to click a command to convert the file to Google’s own formats, or choose a setting that converts Microsoft Office files when uploaded. But this latter feature only works when uploading from the website.

Google’s new cloud-based file storage and syncing business with Google Drive will compete with products like Dropbox. Walt Mossberg reviews the new service on digits. Photo: Google.

Google Drive also is missing some features of SugarSync I like. The latter doesn’t require you to place files in a special folder; it syncs the folders you already use on your PC and Mac. Also, unlike SugarSync, Google Drive doesn’t let you email files directly into your cloud locker.

Google Drive allows you to share files and folders, and collaborate with others. You can also email files as attachments. People with whom you share files can be allowed different rights: to view, comment, or edit them. You can also keep the files private.

Because Google has run into hot water over keeping users’ information private, some people may be reluctant to trust their files to Google Drive. But the company insists that, while it does process and store your files, no human can see them and, at least today, the files aren’t used to target advertising at users. The company notes no file can be placed in Google Drive unless the user wants it there.

The service does a very good job of searching files, even finding words inside PDF or scanned documents. The company claims it can find images when you type in words describing them, like “bridge” or “mountain”—even if those words don’t appear in the image’s file name. But I found this mostly worked with photos of famous places or people Google has collected via its Google Goggles product. Google Drive failed to find images with generic file names on almost all of my own pictures, even when they included things like mountains or other common objects.

Google Drive did a good job in my tests with videos. It converts nearly every common video format into a format it can play, right inside its website. This process can take some time. While Google Drive can store music, it can’t play it directly via its website.

Google’s new service also works with third-party document creation and editing apps that are built to work with it. I used one, called Balsamiq Mockups, to create a quick wire-frame diagram.

I can recommend Google Drive to consumers looking for cloud-based storage, with the added bonus of integrated editing, at lower prices. But the new Microsoft SkyDrive also seems worth a try.

—Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos at the All Things Digital website, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

A version of this article appeared April 25, 2012, on page D1 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Google Heads To the Cloud For Storage to Sync and Edit.

Thinking about buying a laptop? Think again, says WSJ’s Personal Technology Columnist Walt Mossberg in his annual spring laptop review.

If you’re thinking of buying a new laptop this spring, my advice is to think again. Unless your laptop is on its last legs and you have to move quickly, there are compelling reasons to wait until at least the summer, and probably the fall, to buy a new machine, especially if you are looking for a Windows PC, but even if you are in the market for a Mac.

That makes this annual spring buyer’s guide a bit different. People always worry that buying tech products today carries a risk of obsolescence. Most of the time, that fear is overblown. But this spring really is a bad time to buy a new laptop, because genuinely big changes are due in the coming months.

On the PC side, Microsoft

is set to introduce Windows 8, the most radical new version of Windows in years, probably in the fall. PC makers will be introducing new laptop designs to take advantage of it. While Windows 8 will work with a mouse or touch pad and a keyboard, it will be heavily oriented toward tablet-type touch-screen navigation. Many PC makers are planning convertible Windows 8 models for the holiday shopping season that can act as either tablets or regular clamshell laptops.

If you buy a traditional Windows 7 laptop now, Microsoft says it will very likely be upgradable to Windows 8, but you won’t find the new styles of laptops on store shelves now. Even if you buy one of the rare touch-screen laptops now, Microsoft says it will likely work with the touch features of Windows 8, but it may not be optimized to do a great job with the new software. Also, in my view, it is always better, especially with Windows computers, to buy a new machine if you want a new version of Windows.

On the Mac side, Apple

also is bringing out a new operating system, this summer. Called Mountain Lion, it won’t be as big a change as Windows 8, partly because Apple already has integrated a lot of touch gestures and tablet-type features into the Mac using the touch pad, and has given no indication it plans touch screens.

However, Apple is overdue for redesigned laptops, especially in its MacBook Pro line, and it is a good bet that new, possibly heavily redesigned, models will begin appearing later this year. Current Macs will likely be upgradable to Mountain Lion, but if you buy now, you’ll miss out on the likely new hardware.

There is another factor that calls for waiting. Intel,

whose processors are used by most Windows PC makers and by Apple, is on the verge of introducing a new family of chips, called Ivy Bridge, which the chip maker claims will offer much faster graphics performance without sacrificing battery life. While some Ivy Bridge laptops will be available very soon, the new chips won’t show up in large numbers of consumer laptops until around June. So, even before Windows 8 appears, many consumer laptops you buy now will be outclassed by similar machines that will be introduced this summer.

There is a silver lining. If you watch prices carefully, you may find bargains on Windows 7 laptops running the current Intel processors—which are plenty capable—as the newer models get closer. And PC makers are likely, at some point, to offer free upgrades to Windows 8.

With all of that in mind, here is a cheat sheet to choosing a laptop now, if you must. As always, these tips are for average consumers doing common tasks—email, Web browsing, social networking, general office productivity, photos, music, videos and simple games. This guide isn’t meant for corporate buyers or for serious gamers and media producers.

Tablet or laptop

Tablets can reduce your reliance on a laptop and allow you to wait to buy a new one. Tablet users often find they use their laptops less often for daily tasks like email, Web browsing, or social networking.

Price

Windows PC makers are trying to nudge up the price of their laptops, since they feel they make too little profit on them. You can buy a stripped-down Windows laptop for under $300 and an adequate model for around $500. But a well-equipped model typically runs between $600 and $900. The cheapest Mac laptop, the 11-inch MacBook Air, costs $999, and prices quickly climb to $1,200.

Windows vs. Mac

Windows 7 laptops offer more variety in styles, and often more ports and larger hard disks, at less cost. But Apple laptops are sturdy, sleek and offer better built-in software. They have excellent customer support and can even run Windows, at an extra cost.

Also, Mac users have only the rare virus to contend with, while Windows users must worry about hundreds of thousands of potential attacks. Finally, Apple’s slim, light, speedy MacBook Air, which starts at $999, is a gem. It isn’t only a great traveling machine, but it can be used as your main machine.

Ultrabooks

Nearly every PC maker now has a MacBook Air-type model called an ultrabook. I have yet to find one that is quite as good as the Air, especially on my battery tests. But I like the ultrabooks a lot, and think most consumers will, too. The main downsides to the ultrabooks are that they are relatively pricey—some top $1,000—and have less storage. Like the Air, most use fast solid-state drives instead of hard disks, and these top out at just 256 gigabytes.

Memory

Get at least 4 gigabytes of memory, or RAM, on a new Windows computer. On a Mac, you can get away with 2 gigabytes, but 4 GB is better.

Processors

Intel’s chips—even the new ones coming soon—are called the i3, i5, and i7. An i5 is fine for most consumers, and even an i3 will do. But a laptop with chips from AMD is also fine.

Graphics

Usually cheaper machines have weak graphics hardware and costlier ones have better graphics. Better graphics can make a machine faster.

Hard disks

A 500 gigabyte hard disk should be the minimum on most PCs, except bargain and very light models. As always, be wary of sales pitches and don’t buy more laptop than you need.

—Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos at the All Things Digital website, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

A version of this article appeared April 18, 2012, on page D1 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Permission to Procrastinate: Wait to Get A New Laptop.

By JULIA ANGWIN

Sens. John Kerry and John McCain have proposed legislation to create a “privacy bill of rights” to protect people from the increasingly invasive commercial data-collection industry. Julia Angwin has details

(See Correction & Amplification below
.)

Sens. John Kerry and John McCain proposed legislation Tuesday to create a “privacy bill of rights” to protect people from the increasingly invasive commercial data-collection industry.

The bill, labeled the Commercial Privacy Bill of Rights Act of 2011, would impose new rules on companies that gather personal data, including offering people access to data about them, or the ability to block the information from being used or distributed. Companies would have to seek permission before collecting and sharing sensitive religious, medical and financial data with outside entities.

The bipartisan proposal would create the nation’s first comprehensive privacy law and largely adopts recommendations made by the Obama Administration last year. Current laws cover only the use of certain types of personal data, such as financial and medical information.

The move comes amid widening scrutiny of the commercial data-gathering industry, which has been chronicled in The Wall Street Journal’s “What They Know” series. In his comments, Sen. McCain, an Arizona Republican, read an excerpt from the Journal series revealing that 56 popular cellphone applications transmitted information about users to outsiders without users’ awareness or consent. “Customers must have control of their data when it is transferred to a third party,” Sen. McCain said.

“These companies can do virtually whatever they want with our personal information,” said Sen. Kerry (D., Mass.). “Sen. McCain and I seek to change that.”

Some provisions of the bill changed from a draft the senators circulated a month ago. The bill no longer requires data gatherers to seek permission for sharing any data with outsiders—now the requirement is only for sensitive data.

The senators also added an exemption for companies that gather data through others, but have an “established business relationship” with a customer and are “clear, conspicuous and visible” to the customer.

Some privacy advocates said that could benefit Facebook Inc., which gathers data on its users as they browse other sites. A Facebook spokesman, Andrew Noyes, said the company is pleased the bill “encourages those who offer products and services on the Internet to have a trusted relationship with their users.”

Sen. McCain said the senators attempted to “strike a balance” between consumer-advocacy groups and industry.

Other consumer-advocacy groups, including Consumers Union and the Center for Democracy and Technology, praised the bill, as did four big technology companies: Hewlett-Packard Co., Microsoft Corp., eBay Inc. and Intel Corp.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau, whose members are responsible for most online tracking, said the bill gave too much discretion to the Federal Trade Commission. The bill would give the FTC authority to write rules for personal-data gatherers. The Commerce Department could help craft those rules.

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement, “It’s terrific that we’re seeing so much Congressional interest in protecting consumer privacy.”

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said in a statement that he was pleased that the legislation incorporated the administration’s recommendations.

Write to Julia Angwin at julia.angwin@wsj.com

Correction & Amplification

Interactive Advertising Bureau members were responsible for most of the online tracking discovered in a Wall Street Journal survey last year of the top 50 U.S. websites. This article incorrectly says that the group’s members are responsible for most online tracking.

By TAOS TURNER

BUENOS AIRES—Argentines face another year of scrounging for hard-to-get iPhones as the government continues to block imports of the world’s most popular smartphone.

The government doesn’t formally ban iPhones, but it has made it clear to mobile phone makers that they can’t sell their products here unless they produce them in Argentina.

While companies such as Research In Motion Ltd. have partnered with local manufacturers to assemble phones, it wouldn’t make sense for Apple to do so, a top telecommunications executive said Friday.

Apple would be hard-pressed to justify investing in local production given its global distribution chain and the limited size of Argentina’s market, Telecom Argentina SA Chief Executive Franco Bertone said.

“To get an iPhone in Argentina you have to buy it on your first trip to Miami,” he said at a news conference.

That is exactly what many Argentines do who when they travel to buy iPhones and other goods to get around import restrictions. Well-heeled Argentines, and even some government officials, can be spotted sporting iPhones.

A thriving black market in iPhones also exists for those who can’t afford to travel.

An Apple spokeswoman didn’t return requests to comment. Officials at the Commerce Secretariat, which vets imports, couldn’t be reached for comment.

The South American country should be a hot market for iPhones. It boasts one of the highest rates of mobile phone ownership in the world thanks to Argentines’ love affair with technological gadgets. In 2010, Argentina had about 142 mobile phones for every 100 residents, according to the International Telecommunications Union. By comparison, Brazil has 104 per every 100 residents, Japan 95 and the U.S. 90.

Apple sold around 3,000 iPhones in Argentina last year before the government started blocking phone imports in March, said Enrique Carrier, a Buenos Aires-based telecommunications analyst. It sold 30,000 in 2010, about double what it sold the previous year, he said.

Apple sold about 87 million iPhones world-wide in 2011, according to its latest quarterly report.

Mr. Carrier is not optimistic about Apple’s chances of selling the iPhone in Argentina anytime soon.

“I think we’re going to be an iPhone-less country,” he said. “As long as they don’t produce them here, the phones aren’t going be allowed in.”

The ban on iPhone imports is part of a broader import substitution system that encourages the replacement of imported products with locally made goods.

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner advocates the system to create and protect local jobs, as well as trim the country’s rapidly growing import bill.

President Kirchner’s import substitution policies have led to periodic import bans on French cheese, Apple computers, BMW cars, Barbie dolls and even whiskey. Last year, the government delayed import of one million books at customs to coerce publishers to print them locally.

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