The Evolution of Technology

Posts Tagged ‘Google’

How do you bury the competition? By taking one of their strongest services and improving on it. For the past year or so Google has been seeking its answer to the iTunes Store. We’ve heard various rumors, but we’ve also heard that Google has faced significant obstacles from the record companies. Frustrated that the record companies didn’t see things their way, Google went ahead and launched a comprehensive music locker service, Google Music. But now they’re back at the table with record companies, and it appears that they’re on the brink of something even bigger.

The rumors have started to resurface, and now we’re starting to see evidence of their reality. Phandroid links information that contains a screenshot of the Google Music landing page. Option No. 1 comes as no surprise, since it’s the service we’ve all grown to know and love. Option No. 2 confirms at least part of the rumored addition to Google Music: a music store. We don’t yet know which labels Google has on board, so we don’t know the depth of the catalog. But chances are they wouldn’t launch one without the majors on board. And so they’ll have a music selection comparable to the iTunes Store. Only, the rumors don’t stop there.

Google is full of neat, futuristic ideas, but none has appealed to me to the same degree that Google Wallet has. It’s a practical, easy solution that will, in time, allow me to carry one less bulky item. You can watch the above video for a quick introduction to Google Wallet, and then read on for some perspective.

For those who didn’t watch the video: Google Wallet is basically a credit and debit card (plus more), right on your Android phone. Right now it works with the Citi MasterCard, but at launch Google announced partnerships with Visa, American Express, and Discover. Wallet will eventually work with all those platforms, which gives everyone more payment options. More importantly, it will likely hasten the retail adoption of NFC readers. That’s the key, really. The idea of NFC payments is nice, but if stores and restaurants don’t have the proper equipment to read them it’s worthless.

Not too long ago we looked at how you can use Google Taks on your Android. Most major mail platforms contain tasks, but I especially enjoy Google’s. It’s just a chat window in my Gmail. My only issue is that Google doesn’t have a dedicated app for it on Android. I suspect that, like Google Docs, it will come eventually. Until then you can use the mobile web shortcut described in the above link, or you can try a third party app. From the xda blog comes what might be the best of them: GTasks.

As you might expect, this app works in a straight forward manner. (If it didn’t, I wouldn’t say that it’s probably the best tasks app.) The main screen contains your master list. You can scroll to the left or the right to get sub-lists. When you click into a task screen you’ll see a notepad-looking screen. Here you can not only type out the name of the task, but also all the steps that go along with it. That’s good for project management. You can see when your tasks are due, and then see each individual part. It’s kind of like Getting Things Done in that way.

As expected, Google announced their streaming music service at I/O this morning. As further expected, it won’t involve a music store. Instead it will be an upload service similar to Amazon’s cloud streaming. It actually looks quite a bit better, with a Grooveshark-like web interface to go along with the app (at least the about page makes it look like a web interface). Best of all, you can upload 20,000 songs, so there is plenty of space. This will be free during the beta period, which will be awesome if the beta lasts as long as, say, Gmail. You’ll need an invite, which you can request at music.google.com/about. I wouldn’t hold my breath on getting one, though.

Via Droid Life, where you can find plenty of other Android information from this morning’s keynote.

This post originated at AndGeeks.com – home to all things Android! Also a great source of info about Android Phones.

Google announces Music Beta, by invite only

AndGeeks – Android News and Reviews

Why start your own music service when you can partner with an existing one? It appears that Google might have asked itself this question. Last week we heard that Google’s talks with music labels were slowing, perhaps to a halt. Apparently they keep wanting more, and the idea of adding a subscription service to its already planned storefront and music locker is causing some issues. While I still think a deal will get done, Google has to explore other options in case one does not. One possibility, as Greg Sandoval of CNET reports, is a partnership with Spotify. That could certainly make things intersting.

For those unfamiliar, Spotify is a service that provides unlimited streaming music. It is similar in many ways to Grooveshark, except that the music is licensed. Well, that, and it is only available in some European countries. The company has stated its desire to enter the US market, though. What better vehicle to bring them there than Google and Android? Spotify, of course, denies this, but that’s to be expected. When you talk to official spokespeople you rarely get answers. Considering both Google’s and Spotify’s current positions, it’s not difficult to imagine that they’ve spoken, at least casually, about a partnership.

As I’ve repeated ad infinitum, the one area where I think Android most sorely lags behind Apple is in music management. It’s not that Android lacks options. There are plenty of media players that have desktop sync apps as well, and most of these also sync with iTunes. That makes things a bit more convenient, but it’s not quite like Apple, which has made ubiquitous its iTunes media player (at least on Apple computers) and its iTunes store. Android doesn’t have that native function. There was hope, and for about a year we’ve been anticipating Google’s next move in that regard. It was a disappointment late last week when we learned that Google’s talks with record labels stalled. Yesterday we got further disappointing news.

This was more of an emotional disappointment than an actual setback for Google. Though their talks with record labels might have hit a temporary impasse, I expect something will still get done in the near future. It’s really in everyone’s best interests. Google needs to deliver its Android users a better music experience, and record labels, perpetual whiners about declining income, stand to make significant bank on the deal. But to have Apple beat them to the punch? That just hurts. According to a Reuters report, that just might be the case. Commence sobbing.

For some it was a great boon for streaming music. For others it wasn’t worth the trouble. But however you view or viewed Grooveshark, the latest development is significant for all music lovers. Citing terms of service violations, Google has removed Grooveshark from the Android Market. This is not an unprecedented move. Last August, Apple removed Grooveshark from the App Store, just over a week after it debuted. There are certainly legal issues surrounding Grooveshark, and it’s not a stretch to imagine that these issues are what prompted Google to remove it from the Market. I just wonder what it means for the future of streaming music apps.

Of course, most major streaming music apps, such as Pandora and Slacker, don’t face this particular problem. They have licensing deals with record labels, and so can stream music freely as long as they stay within the license’s terms. Grooveshark, on the other hand, has a licensing deal with just one record label, EMI, and that came as the result of a lawsuit. Grooveshark is currently involved in a lawsuit filed by Universal Music Group, which is over a year old. Other record labels could spring litigation on them at any time.