Google Music is coming…coming for iTunes
The Guardian is reporting that Google’s music service is less than two months from launch, and will be integrated into the upcoming Android Honeycomb firmware, the tablet-optimized version of Google’s mobile OS.
“If you look at Google Mobile services [via Android] today, there’s a video service, there’s a music service — that is, there will be a music service,” Sanjay Jha of Motorola’s Mobility Unit said. Motorola’s upcoming Xoom tablet is the vehicle that will be showcasing the new Honeycomb software and Google is investing heavily into the marketing of the device. If anyone outside of Google is in the know to the company’s music plans, that would be Mr. Jha.
As for what Google’s music service will entail, it’s still a mystery, but previous rumors have talked of a digital download service paired with an online storage locker, so you could store songs locally or keep them all in the cloud. The locker aspect could require a subscription fee, perhaps in the range of $25 per year, Billboard reported in September. Another possible feature that seems like a safe bet: automatic wireless syncing of new songs to Android phones. Google already added this functionality to the Android Market, so when you buy an app on a PC, it immediately downloads to the phone. Bye-Bye USB-loving iTunes.
