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Samsung gives up on its homegrown Music and Book Hub services

Just like HTC with its doomed movie service, Samsung is apparently starting to realize that its in-house efforts can't compete with specialist alternatives. While Spotify has been busily publicizing its rapid growth, the Korean manufacturer has been quietly warning Galaxy phone and tablet owners about the impending closure of its similar, own-brand Music Hub. Users can no longer sign up for the premium monthly subscription option, and a message inside the app says they'll need to re-download any purchased tracks and use up any vouchers before the entire service shuts down on July 1st. This at least suggests that any stored tracks will continue to work after that date, perhaps via 7Digital, whose platform underpinned the Music Hub in the first place.

The warning message promises to advise customers on how they can continue their "music experience with Samsung," which could well include asking them to switch to its premium Milk radio-style service instead (although this isn't really an equivalent offering). Meanwhile, there's also a short note about changes to Samsung's ebook service: The company say it's closing the Books section of its Hub and merging it into a new "Kindle for Samsung" app that relies solely on Amazon. And that's not the end of it -- pretty soon the whole Hub may evaporate, as a Samsung exec recently tweeted that "Samsung Hub is going away."