It’s On: Google Internet Music To “Access All Areas”
And with millions of Android users – now miles ahead of rival iPhone (runs 60% of all smartphones globally) – it could be on the right track with Internet streaming service Google Play Music All Access “This is radio without rules. It’s as ‘leanback’ as you want to, or as interactive as you want to,” used across any Android device, declared Chris Yerga, Google’s engineering director at Google 6th annual Google I/O developer conference kicks off in San Francisco, yesterday.
Over 6,000 of Google faithfuls (developers) were in attendance as the tech giant unveiled a monthly music subscription service called Google Play Music All Access, new Maps and Chrome that speak to you.
Internet streaming service Google Play Music All Access has millions of songs that joins its Play store and music locker, according to Google blog.But its not just iTunes, Spotify (priced at $6.99/$11.99), which has a massive market here in Australia that may also feel the pinch of Google streaming service that will be likely very soon on all Android hardware, smartphones, tablets and is hitting a “special” Samsung Galaxy S4 next month, which also comes with other Google updates.
You can create a radio station from any song or artist, browse recommendations from Google music team or explore by genre. Google Play Music lets you combine your G Music with your own tunes in one single library.
It’s $9.99 a month, and Google are letting doubters try it free for the first month. You can store 20,000 songs for free in the cloud.
A “special” Samsung Galaxy S4″ hitting US on June 26, will have Google Play Music All Access preloaded, available with no contract for $649.
Maps Redrawn
Google has also redrawn its Maps service making it “smarter”, customising maps for every user and draws tailored maps that highlights only the road and landmarks you need.
Search results are labelled directly on the map with brief place descriptions and icons that highlight local amenities (recommended by your Google+ friends, if you have any).
“Like a friend drawing you a map to her favourite restaurant, with only the roads and landmarks you need to get there, the new Google Maps instantly changes to highlight information that matters most” writes Bernhard Seefeld, Google Maps Product Management Director & Yatin Chawathe, Google Maps Engineering Director, via blog.
But Google Maps wants something back – your data. “The more you interact with the map, the better it gets. When you set your Home and Work locations, star favourite places, write reviews and share with friends, Google Maps will build more useful maps with recommendations for places you might enjoy” (Ooh, we scent privacy issues).
It also now includes local business listings like restaurants, bars, information and ratings – with help from Google Zagat ratings service.
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