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Google Play Music can now stream direct to Sonos on Android
Let's face it, as cool as Sonos is, that Android app is ugly. You should definitely be rolling with the beta version. The new (and much cleaner, and less blue) look isn't the big news though. That honor goes to the addition of Google Play Music to the list of streaming options you can enjoy from the Android app. Starting today, you'll be able to access any music you've added to Google's cloud service, plus all the music in the world (well, not quite, but a lot of it) if you're fully paid up with All Access. There's one more significant change to the world of Sonos today, and that's the ability to stream music directly within the Play app to your hardware. The option will be under the same streaming button as if you were sending it to a Chromecast. So you might find yourself skipping that new slick controller app altogether. We're no clairvoyants, but expect to see even more music services getting the same native support in the very near future.
Google Play Music for Chrome delivers browser uploads, finally
Google has finally enabled uploading tracks to its Play Music service through a browser, but for now, you'll need to flip the switch yourself. In the Labs section of the menu, there's an option for Google Play Music for Chrome. Ticking the appropriate box will allow for both drag-and-drop and manual song additions without the need to use that less than stellar Music Manger. Clicking the "Add Music" button at the top of the UI will also give you the option to choose folders that you'd like synced automatically. There's also a mini player that can be accessed by clicking the arrow at the bottom right of the web app and the ability to download songs, albums and playlists directly from the web has been tacked on, too. All of the new features are powered by Google's Chrome Apps and Native Client tech. What's more, the folks in Mountain View have also added Info Cards to Movies and TV shows for added details on the actors in a particular scene. Of course, the selection you're watching has to enable the feature for it to be available when you press pause on a mobile device. We've included a handy GIF after the break for a quick look at how it works.
Google Play Movies and Music All Access hit more countries around the world
Sounds like Google's been busy cutting international licensing deals, because the company's just expanded its Play Movies and Music services to a huge bunch of countries. Between the two, the latter touts the longer list, as the Play Movies & TV Android app has been updated to work in 37 new locations across the globe. These include the Netherlands, Venezuela and Rwanda, as you can see in the roster (that Android Police spotted on Google Play's support page) posted after the break. While residents in all these countries can watch movies they've bought or rented from Google, TV shows are still only limited to people living in the US, the UK, Australia and Japan.
Google Play Music for Android now lets you take radio stations offline
If you thrive on Google Play Music's radio stations but would love if they kept playing while you're away from an internet connection, congratulations -- Google has just granted your wish. An Android app update rolling out today lets you pin whole stations to your device, guaranteeing a fresh set of tunes when you're on that WiFi-less flight. The upgrade also allows you to remotely manage the devices that can access your collection, and a "play next" command will queue up a song that you just have to hear. The new Play Music software doesn't appear to be widely available just yet, but those who refuse to wait can download the installer from Android Police.
Google is mapping the history of modern music
It's no surprise that Google has been tracking music uploads, but what's unexpected is exactly what the search giant is doing with all of that info. Interactive maps of music's ongoing journey are charted through Play Music's users' libraries, found over on Google's Research Blog. You could, for example, trace the ebb and flow of a genre era by era (rock remains one of the biggies while electronica's presence is relatively new), or even identify which release from a band is the most prominent. Looking at the Deftones, their biggest album is 2000's White Pony, and they're near the top of the alt-metal heap overall. Music nerds could lose a few days poring over the various ins and outs of the soundtrack to their lives, so be careful who you share this with. Perhaps best of all, Google says this likely won't be the last collaboration we see between the research and music teams.
Google Play Music source code suggests browser uploads coming soon
Right now if you want to upload your stash of tunes to Google Play Music, you have to download Music Manager, an application that hooks into your computer's hard drive so that you can transfer selected audio files to Mountain View's storage cloud. But what if you don't want to download yet another piece of software on your already bursting hard drive, or you just want to upload a few songs from a friend's computer without having to get the app? Well, according to an eagle-eyed tipster of the unofficial Google system blog, you might be able to upload songs directly from the browser in the not-too-distant future. The source code in Google Play Music apparently suggests this via a dialog description text that reads "Drag songs or folders here to add music to your library. Or, if you prefer, select from your computer." While we're not sure if Google will actually implement browser uploads for its Music service, the line of code indicates the search giant is at least considering the idea. If you're a regular Google Play Music user, sound out in the comments below if this would be a welcome feature.
Google Play Music All Access gets Handy in Germany
Germany's something of a latecomer to Google's Play Music All Access party (that name, we know!). The country that made David Hasselhoff a venerable pop star was conspicuously absent from the Google music service's many European roll outs. Not now, however, as Google's officially made the streaming service available für das deutsche Volk. The same free 30-day trial offer still applies here, but if you stay on past that, expect to fork over €7.99/mo for the unlimited streaming access, offline storage and personalized radio. It is, as they say in German, a super good way to enjoy your music on-the-go.
Google Play Music app officially arrives on Glass
Glass Explorers who weren't adventurous enough to sideload Google Play Music onto their wearable for an early taste of the app have just gotten easy access to it. Mountain View's just listed the tune player on the MyGlass application and in the Glassware section of its companion website. Once the app is set to "On," Glass will automatically download the software and unlock a new "listen to" command. By wielding the magic words users can speak to pull up albums, artists, playlists and songs they've uploaded to the service and those available through Google Play Music All Access. We took the app for a spin and there don't appear to be any notable changes compared to the version we installed by hand. If you were one of the intrepid users who loaded up the app ahead of time, you'll have to uninstall it through the Android Debug Bridge in order to successfully score it via MyGlass. If you're itching to make the most of tune streaming on the hardware, you can grab ahold of stereo earbuds from Google designed just for the device.
Latest Google Glass update has a secret feature: it can play music (update: $85 stereo earbuds incoming)
If you thought the latest Glass update was designed solely to help with your schedule and commute, you'd be mistaken. The sneaky devs in Mountain View quietly added support for Google Play Music in the XE11 upgrade, laying the groundwork for a future feature announcement. After sideloading the app onto Glass, a new "listen to" voice command appears on the the hardware's home screen, a feature that Glass head of Marketing Ed Sanders tells USA Today it is "important to have" for the headset. Right on time, the Glass team has posted a new Explorer Story video featuring music producer Young Guru explaining how Glass can help him discover new sounds to sample, showing off playback and the existing Android Sound Search feature. By uttering the new phrase and speaking the name of an album, artist, playlist or song, the company's guinea pigs can listen to tunes they've uploaded to Google Play Music or those available through All Access, provided they have a subscription. Once a user confirms their choice and the music starts, a card with album art and playback controls (Pause, Play, Previous, Next, Stop, Radio and Volume) is pinned to the wearable's timeline. As you might imagine, the audio quality through the bone conduction speaker isn't spectacular, and while the device's forthcoming earbud may offer some improvement, the foreseeable musical future of Glass Explorers is in mono. Update: Google has informed USA Today and the New York Times that a set of earbud headphones will be available next month for $85, which you can spot in the video after the break. It also appears that the Google Play Music tricks discovered will be officially unveiled later today, and probably won't require any sideloading shenanigans.
Google Play Music All Access hits Mexico, Canada jealous in most friendly way possible
Another week passes, another country gets Google's blessing for its music locker and streaming service. This time out, Google Play Music All Access is hitting our neighbors to the south, Mexico. Just try not to brag about how awesome streaming 20,000 songs from your cloud library is, amigos -- Canada is still getting the, ahem, cold shoulder from Mountain View.
RCA's Internet Music System blends detachable Android tablet, boombox
Though RCA has slipped from electronics giant to maker of niche products, it's just announced an intriguing music streaming system that is rumored to cost $178 at Walmart, according to Android Police. The Internet Music System (has RCA fired its branding department?) features a removable Android tablet of as-yet unknown size that plays music via Bluetooth to the docking amp and speakers. Music sources can be Google Play Music and apps like Spotify, as well as CDs via a player and yes, FM radio. As a topper , it'll also stream video from the likes of Netflix and YouTube to your TV via an HDMI cable. At the above price, it might be just the device for those tired of explaining for the eighth time how to play a YouTube song through the home theater system. To see how it works, check the video after the break.
Google Play Music All Access makes its way to seven more European countries
If you felt left out by the European debut of Google Play Music All Access in August, hopefully Mountain View's latest announcement brings you into the musical fold. According to Google's support page -- as spotted by Android Police -- the search giant's music locker and streaming service is now available in the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Russia and Switzerland. And given how fast European internet is, it shouldn't take you nearly as long to upload a massive music collection as it did for us stateside, either.
Google Play Music for Android updated to address data usage complaints
Mobile data caps have been the enemy of Google Play Music for quite some time, but a new update, available in the Play Store today, might provide a quick fix. By default, the service streams music at the highest quality possible on a given connection, so it wasn't always friendly to users dealing with data limits. With this update, Google is aiming to decrease the amount of overall data the app uses while providing more bandwidth usage settings. Additionally, the update boasts improved search quality and faster music downloads. Hopefully, Google will continue to work out the kinks before its forthcoming iOS All Access rollout. In the meantime, Google Play Music users can mosey on over to the source link below to download the latest version.
Google confirms Nexus Q not supported in latest version of Play Music
Google Play Music is about to reveal its saddest song... for owners of the Nexus Q that is. In fact, some might guess it's the funeral march. Phandroid and Android Police both report having received confirmation that the latest update of Google's Play Music service -- that we saw outed yesterday -- doesn't support the firm's own music streamer. A statement given to the websites confirms the fact, with little to suggest it'll get any better for the little black ball going forward. Does this signify the final nail in the coffin? Potentially. But, given that it was erased from view on the Play store some time ago, and orders never charged, you might have already guessed that outlook not so good had been the prediction for some time.
Google Play Music All Access hands-on
More Info Google reportedly signs deal with Sony and Universal Google launches All Access music-streaming service Google reportedly in negotiations with music labels to launch streaming service Among the worst kept secrets to be revealed during today's Google I/O keynote was Play Music All Access. Mountain View's desire to create a subscription-based music streaming service was pretty well-documented. Now it's finally here, for $9.99 a month (or $7.99 if you're an early adopter and get in on the free trial before June 30th), with at least a couple major labels on board. Of course, All Access is entering a rather crowded field -- one already dominated by heavy hitters like Spotify. We spent the afternoon getting acquainted with Google's subscription music service to see if it has what it takes to hang with more established properties. Head on past the break to see what we learned. %Gallery-188521%
Google Play Music spreads to Australia, New Zealand and five European nations
Google has been on something of a tear spreading its Google Play media services around the world; don't look now, but it's picking up the pace. The search giant is expanding Google Play Music today to cover Australia, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Portugal. That small deluge of new countries can now shop for their favorite tunes as well as store up to 20,000 of them online for streaming, either on the web or on Android devices. Large swaths of the world remain uncovered by the service -- ahem, Canada -- but we'll still welcome a big step toward cloud music for everyone. [Thanks, Chris]
Strategy Analytics: iCloud, Dropbox and Amazon top cloud media in the US
We often focus on market share for hardware, but cloud media services increasingly dictate our lives after the devices have reached our bags and pockets. Wouldn't it be nice to know who rules the online media landscape? According to Strategy Analytics' just-published study from the fall, it's Apple's iCloud and iTunes Match that are top dogs in the US at a combined 27 percent of usage -- a not entirely surprising lead when Apple has pushed hard on iCloud's media syncing since iOS 5, and has large swaths of market share in MP3 players and tablets, not just smartphones. There's a considerably tougher fight involved for just about everyone else, however, including Google. Dropbox and Amazon Cloud Player are almost neck-and-neck at 17 and 15 percent respectively, while Google Drive holds just 10 percent. Music is clearly the driving force, Strategy Analytics says: when audio represents 45 percent of the content on a generic platform like Dropbox, companies ignore tunes at their own peril. Just don't confuse market share with absolute popularity. A full 55 percent of those asked hadn't used a cloud media service at all, which suggests that there's a long road to travel before we're all streaming and syncing our collections.
Google tweaks Google+ and Play Music apps for Android
Nobody can accuse Google of being lax with its recently-booming social network or Play Music Android player, as updates seem to be arriving at healthy intervals. Another one just dropped for each that fixes a Galaxy SIII freezing issue in Music, while adding instant mixes beyond 25 songs, the ability to shuffle by album, artist or playlist, new default album art and others for that app. Meanwhile, Google+ has added linking to new posts, a revised notification tray and more community moderation features. Those will make an automatic appearance on your device if your settings are in order -- if not, check the source for more info.
Google Music gains scan and match feature in the US
It wasn't very long ago that Google Music landed in Europe -- to the delight of local music lovers, we're sure. On its trip across the pond, the service gained a unique new feature called scan and match, wherein Google scans your local music library and makes the songs it matches instantly available in the cloud -- no upload required. Until now the feature, which is similar to iTunes Match, was only available in Europe, but it's coming to the US starting today. From now on, any US Google Play users who upload their music collection will benefit from this new feature. Over time, the company will also upgrade users with existing cloud libraries. It's a free service and it's automatic -- you're unlikely to notice that it's even happening. The upside is that entire collections will be uploaded faster. We're not aware of any downsides yet -- matched songs will be available for streaming at 320Kbps like regular Google Play purchases, while re-downloaded music will be available at or close to the bitrate of the original file. Update: Google confirmed that any VBR files matched by the service will be re-downloaded as CBR files with a bitrate that's slightly higher than the average bitrate of the original song. This is obviously a drawback if you're currently relying on the service to backup your music collection.
Google Play, developers slash prices on apps and media for Thanksgiving weekend
If you've taken advantage of the myriad Black Friday deals on mobile devices and PCs, you're probably looking for content to feed the technology beast. Google and app creators are pulling out all the stops to make sure that beast stays full: Google Play has discounts throughout the Thanksgiving weekend for just about every format on offer. Android apps are the highlight, with SwiftKey 3, Shadowgun and Documents To Go on the list of those with grander price cuts, although there's some definite bargains to be had in media. Among the picks are price drops on books like The Hobbit, movies like The Big Lebowski and Serenity, and music from the likes of Diana Krall and Kendrick Lamar. We can't possibly mention every offer here, so check our links for some of the larger deals. Terrence O'Brien contributed to this report.
