Microsoft Relaunches SkyDrive as OneDrive

It’s been coming for six months, but Microsoft (MSFT) has finally relaunched its SkyDrive cloud storage service as OneDrive, a name the company unveiled a few weeks ago. Now available, OneDrive is pretty much just a rebranded SkyDrive—free cloud storage for storing a variety of files, from photos to documents to videos to music.

According to Microsoft, though, there are a few updates to the service, including new features around improved video sharing and updated applications for Windows Phone, Apple (AAPL) iOS, Android and Xbox.

To help get the word out, Microsoft is offering the first 100,000 customers who access their OneDrive accounts an additional 100GB of complimentary storage for a year.

“When someone picks up their phone, tablet or any other device, they just want all of their favorite photos and the documents they need at their fingertips—they don’t want to have to hunt for them,” said Chris Jones, corporate vice president of OS Services at Microsoft, in a prepared statement. “That’s the lens we are taking with OneDrive. We’re building it right into all of the latest Microsoft devices and services—from Xbox to Windows Phone and Windows 8.1 to Office—but we’re also making sure it’s available on the web and across all other platforms, including iOS and Android, so your photos, videos and files are all available anytime you need them.”

OneDrive is more of a consumer-focused cloud storage option. Customers get 7GB of free storage space, but can purchase additional storage in 50GB, 100GB and 200GB increments on an annual basis.

The name change story began last August when U.K. broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting Group beat Microsoft in a legal battle. The U.K. court that made the decision agreed with BSkyB’s accusation of trademark infringement.

Microsoft had little choice but to change the name of its service in the United Kingdom, and as expected, the technology giant decided to keep its brand consistent around the world.