Microsoft has added a 200GB storage upgrade option to its cloud based storage service SkyDrive. Microsoft note that this is enough space to take a photo "every hour, from the moment someone is born, to the day they graduate from college". More realistically it provides enough space for media and documents that concerns about running out of space should not be a concern for the vast majority of people.

The announcement comes hand-in-hand with the launch of the second generation of Microsoft's Surface devices, which are being bundled with a two year subscription to the 200GB storage plan, but is also relevant for anyone that makes heavy use of SkyDrive. Microsoft are charging £64 ($100) for the upgrade, which compares favourably with the pricing for other cloud storage services (e.g. Google Drive at $120 and Dropbox at $199).

As with other SkyDrive storage upgrade, the 100GB upgrade option can be purchased via the SkyDrive website (Options -> Manage storage -> Upgrade). Any upgrade will be additive for any existing space. For example, if you have a 25GB free account, upgrading with the 200GB option will give you 225GB of storage space. 

Windows Phone uses SkyDrive as the automatic backup location for captured photos, which if you take a lot of photos, can use a lot of space. SkyDrive is also used by many Windows Phone app for cloud storage and settings back up. It also integrated into the Office app, where it can be used to store and share documents.

For these reasons SkyDrive is generally regarded as the logical cloud storage option for the Windows Phone platform, but it's important to remember that many users already have a preferred cloud storage service, which is one of the reasons the continuing absence of an official Dropbox app for Windows Phone continues to cause comment.