I just got finished reading a seemingly boring article at the Houston Chronical's Chron.com focused on pointing out how Gmail is now open to everyone. If you keep on web going's on, this is something you already heard, though I, like many other people was surprised that this move did not happen at the same time Gmail was moved out of beta. Anyway, the more interesting part of the article came in this quote (emphasis added):

Now that Google has more computing muscle, Brin said the company will start selling additional storage capacity to e-mail users with extraordinary needs. Google still hasn't figured out the specifics, but Brin indicated the e-mail storage and fees to be introduced later this year would be similar to Google's photo-hosting service that charges $25 annually for 6.25 gigabytes and $500 annually for 250 gigabytes.

Well, it looks like someone at Google has been listening to the users. While for the vast majority of users the 2.8 or so gigabytes is more than they will ever need, power users, some of which have been using Gmail for years, are in need of space. With no way increase their limit, up to this point they have been forced to search through their mail and delete items (only those with attachments would have any impact), something which goes against the entire idea of Gmail. After all, the plan was to never again have to delete a piece of mail. Picasa's pricing currently runs at:

• 6.25GB ($25 USD per year)
• 25GB ($100 USD per year)
• 100GB ($250 USD per year)
• 250GB ($500 USD per year)

This means that we can expect Gmail to be pretty affordable. If people are barely getting by with 2.8GB, the prospect of more than doubling their storage for just $25 a year should be an easy sell. I would imagine that upgrade's to Gmail's storage capacity will be available in more than four increments, maybe even by the gigabyte considering how text and attachments tend to accumulate a lot slower than photos. Personally I have been with Gmail since June 2004, which was on the early side, and while it is my primary personal email address, I don't use it for work, as many people do. I have done some house cleaning here and there (deleting a few of the oldest/lartgest attachments) and have kept my account at a slim 314 MB (11%) of my 2817 MB. The space issue is not one that applies to me, but the prospect of paying for Gmail is something I am more than a bit interested in- not because I think Google needs my money, but by paying for the service there would have to be some guarantee behind what you are paying for, whereas with a free service if you account just stops working one day you are out of luck. Paying for more storage would not do the trick in this instance, by some for of Pro account would.