Google adding over-the-air app installation and iTunes streaming to Android

Sure sure, Froyo is great and all, but Google just blew our minds with two previews of upcoming Android features at I/O: OTA application installation and remote music streaming. OTA installation is just as simple as you'd expect -- after browsing to an app on your desktop, you can push it to your phone and install it with just a single click, all done over the air. Interestingly, Google also showed music being purchased and transferred from Android Marketplace in the same way, which could indicate a deeper push towards music integration, or just be a nice demo. Either way, it's pretty slick stuff -- the fewer wires we have to carry, the better.

The remote music streaming is a little crazier: Google bought a company called Simplify Media, which makes a bit of desktop software that can stream all your music directly from iTunes to your phone. The demo was quite slick -- you just open the app and push "all," and all your music is instantly available. Whether or not this'll work over 3G or be limited to the local network is still up in the air, but we're dying to try it out.

[bluefisch200 Posted May 20th 2010 3:43PM]

@drksilenc WMP, WinAmp?

[liquidmonkey Posted May 20th 2010 2:38PM]

thank you google / android, thank you!


and pineAPPLE, u can suck it!
sent from my iTunes streaming over steve moms HTC DESIRE

[Jibaro009 Posted May 20th 2010 2:57PM]

I remember these guys. they had an approved app in the AppStore that only worked with a jailbroken at the beginning....

[kaarn Posted May 20th 2010 3:21PM]

Daaaaaaaang!!! It's like every DAY something HOT is coming to Android or announced to be coming! If Google keeps this up, they'll be launching the space shuttle with Android. I keep on seeing "iPhone" sprinkled throughout these comments. What's an "iPhone"?

[LANjackal Posted May 20th 2010 3:21PM]

Thankfully, it's not just for iTunes. WMP and Winamp are also supported: http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2010/05/google-snatched-up-popular-iphone-app-for-android-streaming.ars

PHEW. Careful with the way you word your stories, Engadget. Almost had a heart attack there.

Nice move by Google, turns every Android phone into an MP3 player of limitless capacity :)

[Austin John Posted May 20th 2010 3:34PM]

So Google bought SimplifyMedia just to shut it down on iPhone and make it Android only???

So much for "Do No Evil"!!!

[etwashoo2 Posted May 21st 2010 8:30AM]

@Austin John

That's not evil, it's good business. Open the iPhone up and you'll get it back. iPhone = not evil, but at least angry

[iHakr Posted May 20th 2010 4:09PM]

I am already waiting for 2.2 on my Evo that I dont have yet...... :/

I think it was funny that 2.1 was just released for the sprint hero yesterday... Hopefully updates will be more frequent.

[Trevolutionary Posted May 20th 2010 4:17PM]

I have been in a desperate search to find some way to stream my iTunes to my Hero. There are some decent solutions out there (Subsonic, Orb, etc.) however none have worked as well as Simplify Media did on my bros iPhone. I used the program to host my library between my mac at home and my pc at work, which worked well.

[MarcinK Posted May 20th 2010 4:25PM]

Apple is gonna regret rejecting that app....

[worldbfree4me Posted May 20th 2010 4:27PM]

Welcome to the Streaming Party Android! My Zumo Drive on my trusty Pre streams music over the Air too..

[msp1561 Posted May 20th 2010 5:04PM]

I can see the value in OTA syncing. Sometimes I'll go weeks between syncing my iPhone with iTunes. It's mostly due to laziness. It's not like I even have to physically sit at my PC.... it's as simple as plugging it in and letting it run its course. It's nice to know the apps I recently DL'ed are now backed up on my PC (in case my iPhone decides to $hit the bed again). Having a wireless option would definitely be easier.

THIS... on the other hand... lol it's just stupid. what can I say? DLing an app via the computer THEN pushing it wirelessly to your device?!! WTF is that? I must be missing something cuz that doesn't sound cool at all. I can't stand sitting on my computer. That's part of the appeal of these devices. They allow you to surf the web and do all that crap while laying on the couch or whatever. And no... don't bring up a damn netbook. God I hate those F'in things! and laptops are even worse. Feels like i'm at work!! So why would I wanna spend my free time sitting on a chair staring at a damn screen pushing apps wirelessly to my device when I could just DL them off my device while hangin from my dining room chandelier? (don't knock it till you try it!)

As far as Simplify goes... I had/have it on my iPhone. It's cool to have your entire collection on your device at any time but... let's not forget it's streaming. I'm an impatient guy. Waiting for things to buffer or having to deal with connection issues pisses me off. Do I REALLY need X gbs worth of media on my damn phone? Most of the stuff I have is old crap I'm sick of anyway. I wanna listen to new stuff. So I'll either create a rather small playlist and put that on my phone (nothing beats the speed of non-streaming music) or use a service like slacker. yeah, that's streaming but... whatever. Oh and... needless to say, in order for simplify to work your computer has to be on. I didn't like the idea of leaving it on all day JUST so I could MAYBE listen to my collection of crap so I said the hell with it.

[katiepea Posted May 20th 2010 9:25PM]

@msp1561 you're so right, how stupid of google to add useful features. anyone can argue that anything is useless, but at the end of the day, it doesn't hurt anything that the ability to listen to your entire music collection away from home wirelessly, or the ability to install an app to your phone without ever touching it, are present. with this logic, PFFT I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR A TOUCHSCREEN AND SWIPING, I'D RATHER JUST HAVE A BUTTON FOR EVERY SINGLE APP ON THE PHONE. please, obvious troll is obvious.

[phearme Posted May 21st 2010 5:12AM]

@msp1561 if you don't find this usefull, then stay with your apple phone, but please don't tell people what's good or bad for them.

[happyred Posted May 20th 2010 7:04PM]

Subsonic works well for me on my G1 over 3G.
Caching for offline mode is excellent and developer is open to suggestions for improvements.

[BigFatDuck Posted May 20th 2010 7:37PM]

Awesome! Android droids will finally be able to do what the iPhone has done since os 2.

[katiepea Posted May 20th 2010 9:35PM]

@BigFatDuck sorry but apple has never allowed OTA syncing. nice try though.

[Funkendoodles Posted May 21st 2010 9:50PM]

@katiepea MobileMe an Apple product allows OTA syncing of the iPhone. NuevaSync allows direct, over-the-air, native synchronization of Google Calendar. NEVER?

[dgskydive Posted May 20th 2010 8:47PM]

Best reply ever! Do you have a camera in my office?

[ajwoodhouse Posted May 20th 2010 9:04PM]

Does android support wifi streaming using DNLA? I can't wait to ditch this 3gs and f#^*^%g iTunes and get an android phone

[katiepea Posted May 20th 2010 9:34PM]

wow i've just scrolled through every comment here on this topic. the place has went from iphone fanboys a few months ago laughing at android users. to apple fanboys being actually in a jealous rage saying WOW WHO NEEDS FLASH AND STREAMING MUSIC AND ALL THIS STUFF, WHATEVER DA IPHONE RULEZ #1. it's insanely entertaining, and please..please iphone owners, keep it up.

[benchase7 Posted May 20th 2010 9:48PM]

when the Pre came out it would allow sinc with iTunes, then apple blocked, Palm found a way around... it was a mery-go-round for a long time. Palm gave up... up with a great effort. Apple has tunnel vision and wont allow for this. I would imagine the same thing will happen here, unfortunately. These are the reasons I will not purchase any crapple products. I have ai touch that i havent used in forever. I have a ipod clasic that sits in my glove box collecting dust. The EVO will replace both, and do the job much better. Go Sprint.. Go EVO!

[Funkendoodles Posted May 21st 2010 12:20AM]

@benchase7 Pre didn't license the ability to sync iTunes media with the Pre. Companies that have licensed haven't been excluded from the party of syncing with iTunes. Palm was spoofing the Pre as an iPod to sync with iTunes. Palm could have licensed the ability to sync and everything would've been fine and legal. The Pre would've shown up as a Pre in iTunes.

[nickmorri Posted May 21st 2010 2:37AM]

Does anyone know if SimplifyMedia supports FLAC?

[Funkendoodles Posted May 21st 2010 2:56AM]

@nickmorri You want to stream Flac audio OTA? Are you insane? Wifi maybe…

[nickmorri Posted May 21st 2010 3:01AM]

@Funkendoodles Well someone had previously mentioned that it could transcode on the fly, I don't necessarily want FLAC on my phone but would rather just have a flac only library on my computer.

[Funkendoodles Posted May 21st 2010 1:58PM]

@nickmorri The problem is that FLAC files ate huge, usually higher bit rate, compared to more standard mp3s.

[phearme Posted May 21st 2010 5:08AM]

thank you google for making this happen.

[politicalslug Posted May 21st 2010 2:32PM]

So that's why those of us that paid for Simplify Media's iPhone app no longer have service. Apple will block this service and (hopefully) demand Google refund each and every purchase of Simplify Media's no longer supported iPhone apps. And I guarantee this will be broken both on the iTunes end and Apple will refuse to allow Google's app into the AppStore. I can't blame the guys at Simplify Media for doing this, but their software solution was garbage anyway. It took hours to resync your music library, though all it should have needed was to send an XML file of your iTunes library to your iPhone. Their solution was slow and inelegant. Sorry Google, but this won't work on the iPhone, and it won't work through iTunes either. At least we still have Orb. I know you all love variety and think Apple is locking things down too much, but some of us got the shaft from Simplify, and that is not cool.