Google’s upcoming cloud device, called Drive, might support applications developed by third parties. Drive might add support for third party apps and will also include a software development kit. Users would be able to open files stored in Google Drive using non-Google apps. The below shot of the Google Docs source code, grabbed by Alex Chitu, mentions “SDK” in connection with Google Drive and the “open with” feature:

This suggests that Google Drive will integrate even more with Gmail – The blog Google Operating System speculates users might “say goodbye [to] email attachments and hello to real time collaboration. Drag anything shared with you to My Drive for easy access.” This would make Google Drive an important upgrade to Google Docs, detaching its present online storage service, and making it more useful by adding space, syncing apps and third party integration.

The Wall Street Journal recently mentioned that Google Drive “is expected to launch in the coming weeks or months and will be free for most consumers and businesses. Google will charge a fee to those who want to store a large amount of files.”

Drive will be in competition with Dropbox, Microsoft’s Skydrive and Apple’s iCloud, and will replace its existing Google Cloud Storage.

Interestingly, SafeGov has recently questioned the general security of Google’s cloud device.