Reality Bites
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google Music will launch in the next two weeks—regardless of whether or not Google has inked deals with the four major record label giants. That's a ballsy move, Google. More »
Are you prepared to stay away from swimming pools for a year or two? Then go ahead and watch this music video for the DyE’s track “Fantasy,” directed by French animator Jérémie Périn. It’s all sorts sorts of brain-scarring fun. We dare you to watch this without making a sound. More »
Continue reading Sony Music Unlimited arrives for Android tablets, bearing gifts of unlimited music
Sony Music Unlimited arrives for Android tablets, bearing gifts of unlimited music originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 09:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Google Music may well be lacking a little spice right now, but here at AsiaD, SVP Andy Rubin just confirmed that his company’s “very close” to coming up with a digital download store, just as rumored earlier this month. Additionally, this service will even include “a little twist” of some sort, so we should expect something more than just an ordinary MP3 store. While record companies weren’t willing to bargain with the company in the way they were with Apple, Andy said he’s feeling mighty optimistic that Google’s “almost there” with ironing out the necessary deals, so Android fans should sit tight and keep an eye out for a launch soon.
Google’s ‘very close’ to launching a digital download store with ‘a little twist’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Oct 2011 07:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Google’s not content with being just an online digital locker for your music, it wants you buy MP3s from it, too. A New York Times report suggests Google is looking to open an online MP3 store and is negotiating with the record labels to secure the necessary licensing agreements. More »
A funny thing happened to the folks at Android Police, the same group responsible for leaking some of the first screenshots of Ice Cream Sandwich. They’ve since come across a few apps from Google’s upcoming release — purportedly straight from a Nexus Prime. The first is Google Music 4.0.1 — a marked upgrade from the current 3.0.1 found in the Market today — which sports refined tabs, a contextual dialog and new player controls. For reference, the latest version is shown on the right, which is most likely installed onto a Gingerbread device. Best yet, the APK is currently up for download (which you’re able to grab for yourself from the source). There’s also a sneak peek of the upcoming Google+ 2.0, which suggests Messenger (formerly Huddle) and Conversations will be renamed to… get this… Chords. Feel free to take a peek after the break, or check out the full gallery at the second source link below.
Continue reading Ice Cream Sandwich leak outs Music 4.0.1 for download, previews Google+ 2.0
Ice Cream Sandwich leak outs Music 4.0.1 for download, previews Google+ 2.0 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 17:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Android: If you’re using the Google Music Beta to stream music to your phone, you can now check out a leak of the Ice Cream Sandwich version of the app, which features a better-looking, easier to use interface. More »
The venerable streaming service current available for Windows Phone 7 devices, PCs and XBox 360′s is coming to Canada. Zune Pass, which was originally slated for expansion up north alongside an aborted push of the Zune Music Player never actually arrived, though users in the States have been enjoying its slightly pricey benefits for years.
As it stands, for $9.99/month Canadians will be able to stream over 14 million tracks and, as Microsoft claims, “tens of thousands of indie tunes,” through a number of sources, though as with most streaming music services, only one stream at a time. The main difference between the offering here vs. the one in the States is that we don’t get the choice of paying $5 extra every month to keep 10 tracks forever. This was one of the biggest draws to the Zune Pass, and is something that will still be offered to U.S. customers, though they will also have a crack at the $9.99 streaming-only option.
Will the Zune Pass work in Canada, especially after the much-publicized launch of Rdio and Slacker Radio Unlimited, each of which offer multi-platform music streaming for the same price? For many users, the influential factor will not be the music selection or even the user interface, but rather their proclivity for XBox 360, which is in many millions of Canadian homes. While we applaud the proliferation of choice in Canadian a la carte streaming services, we wonder if the price is a bit high, and the install base too small for it to make much of a difference. Nevertheless, we’ll give it a try for a month and report back. Why don’t you do the same when it becomes available on Monday, October 3rd?
Source: Windows Team Blog
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RIM’s new music service that integrates with BlackBerry Messenger, BBM Music, has received an update in the Beta Zone. This is the first update since it was launched and has been bumped up to v1.0.0.93, mainly bringing bug fixes and a few new features. Probably the biggest upgrade for those taking part is the increase of contacts you’re able to have, now up to 200 from 140. Here’s the full list of new features:
– Stop button in media player
– Buy button now checks for available music store if none is installed
– Improved performance: limit is raised to 200 contacts
– Many various bug fixes
Download BBM Music BlackBerry Beta Zone here
Related posts:
Windows: If you’re not looking for a full-blown app to help you manage all of the files and data on your Android phone but could use a utility to keep your photos, videos, and music in sync between your phone and your desktop, Synx is for you. More »
Welcome to the second io9 music smackdown! We’re putting together the ultimate science fiction (and fantasy) playlist – all the music that everyone should have on his or her iPod. More »
Firefox: Google Music is still US-only, invite-only, but if you do use the service and wish you could download some of the tracks you’ve uploaded for offline play or to sync with a mobile device, Google Music Downloader can help. More »
Nothing warms our hearts quite like the thought of corporate suits and government workers pumping out the tunes of Iris DeMent and Amy Martin as they scurry throughout their busy days. As we’ve previously speculated, a new service for BlackBerry Messenger — dubbed BBM Music — has now become real official. For $5 per month, users may keep up to 50 songs in their personal library, which is kinda reminiscent of the wistful days filled with 128MB MP3 players. Fortunately, it gets better. A social component allows you to add BBM Music friends, which gives you access to their current 50 songs, too — and serves as a real incentive to grow your social circle. Once you get bored of your jam selection, up to 25 songs per month can be swapped out for new ones, and your current library can be stored locally on the handset. The new service begins today in closed beta for residents of the US, Canada and the UK, but more countries will be added down the road. Curious if yours made the list? Just hop the break for the full PR to find out.
Continue reading BBM Music gets official for BlackBerry owners lusting after Spotify
BBM Music gets official for BlackBerry owners lusting after Spotify originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Pure Android is great, but not all of its stock apps are. MaximumTech shows you which apps are most lacking—and the best replacements for them. More »
Chrome: Music Plus is an extension for Google Music that adds popup controls, HTML5 notifications, Last.fm scrobbling and bios, song downloading, global keyboard shortcuts, and lyrics to Google’s nascent cloud-based music player. Basically it takes Google’s pretty cool web-based music player and makes it awesome. More »
The new Beastie Boys music video is pretty awesome, is it not? But considering it was directed by Spike Jonze, that’s not at all surprising. Here’s what (the controversial) Final Cut X and about four days’ time is capable of, via the fine effort from the folks at Wonderful Creative. [Vimeo via Jezebel] More »
Windows (and Mac/Linux with Wine): Grooveshark is one of the best music streaming services around, but if you find a track on Grooveshark that you want to keep for yourself, Groovedown will download it right to your hard drive. More »
Google, Amazon, and Apple have been hogging the headlines when it comes to storing your tunes in the internet ether. That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for another musically inclined cloud contender — or at least, that’s how Best Buy sees things. The big blue box has rolled out its aptly (if uncreatively) named Music Cloud service that lets you upload your audio to its servers and stream it wherever you go. You can also save songs locally, plus there are apps for Androids, Blackberrys, and iPhones to manage and play your music. There are two flavors of Music Cloud, Lite and Premium. The former is free, while the latter costs $3.99 a month, though Best Buy hasn’t said what the difference is (other than price) between the two. The catch? It’s currently only capable of grabbing songs from iTunes, so no uploading from file folders. Let’s hope that’s only a temporary problem.
Update: Turns out the Lite version only lets you listen to the first 30 seconds of each song — you gotta pony up for the Premium service if you want your full tunage to go.
Best Buy puts your music in the cloud, goes where others have gone before (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 01:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Having to sync all your music between devices is annoying. Luckily a number of cloud music services allow you to stream your music to nearly everything—laptops, tablets, smartphones—with minimal effort or tech know-how. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, depending on your needs; here's how to figure out which one's best for you. More »