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Google To Take On iTunes?

Posted by samzenpus on from the battle-of-the-bands dept.

An anonymous reader writes 'Multiple sources say Google is preparing to launch Google Audio. According to people familiar with the matter, Google has been securing content from record companies. Is Google about to go head-to-head with Apple's iTunes?'

11 of 277 comments (clear)

  1. What about the player? by scottblascocomposer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'd be thrilled if Google could do a music player analogue of Picasa. I've always hated iPhoto, and Picasa is great. A similar product to displace iTunes would be incredibly welcome (and yes, I've tried Songbird; maybe someday, but it's not there yet).

    --
    To reign is to serve.
    1. Re:What about the player? by slifox · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Music Player Daemon (mpd) has the right idea: separate the playing backend and the user interface. The result is an easily-interfaceable (many, many clients for all platforms, web, etc) and reliable player that rarely (never for me) crashes, and will continue to play even if X dies (which makes repairing X a little more enjoyable).

      My favorite client is QMPDClient, which is cross-platform and has a good user interface for easily switching between the Library view (3-section Artist/Album/Songs), the Directories view (which shows the Music directory as a folder tree), and the Playlist view (for saving or loading playlists). The directory view is the big selling point for me, because I have my music folder well organized by genre, artist, album, but not necessarily well organized as far as ID3 tags go.

      Here's a screenshot: http://dump.bitcheese.net/images/batidij/qmpdclient-win32.png

      It's definitely worth a try...

      MPD: http://mpd.wikia.com/
      QMPDClient: http://bitcheese.net/wiki/QMPDClient
      Other MPD Clients: http://mpd.wikia.com/wiki/Clients

  2. WSJ reports that it's NOT competition for iTunes by DavidinAla · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Wall Street Journal's story says that the plan will allow people to buy FROM iTunes and Amazon. According to this version, Google is just providing a link to the music providers when it comes to the purchase. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704597704574487423504899680.html If you're not a WSJ subscriber, copy the first sentence of the article and Google it. The link from there will allow you to read the whole thing.

  3. It's a music search feature by tlhIngan · · Score: 5, Interesting

    According to TechCrunch, it's a music search with the option to do limited streaming. So you can search for music, preview them, then either use those services to buy or use iTunes/Amazon to buy it.

  4. eh.... by djupedal · · Score: 5, Funny

    > "According to people familiar with the matter"

    Which in today's terms means 'we made this whole thing up' just to fill a gap in the so-called news...

  5. Re:Its a Fractal by GaryPatterson · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Apple has done very well with the iPhone, but if history is our guide, they did very well with the original Macintosh.

    Not any version of history I've seen. The Mac struggled for a while before finding a niche in desktop publishing, where it languished while PC-compatible machines caught up, overtook it and took over the world. The desktop metaphor took over the computing world, but mostly through Windows.

    History is no guide, unless you believe the players have learnt nothing from it.

    Steve Jobs is too obsessed with removing buttons from mice

    Like many commentators, you've missed the point. He is focused on quality, and the vision he has for Apple seems to include removing anything that detracts from that goal. I can't say if he's 'obsessed' as I don't personally know the man.

    Back on topic - competition is great. Now that Apple have pushed back the limits on music purchasing and pushed DRM off the table (aided greatly by Amazon), players like Google can step up and provide a music ecosystem similar to iTunes. Hopefully Google will include new features that draw users towards their product, stimulating Apple to work harder to compete.

    I hope Google produce something amazing.

  6. A little sample of what's to come by clem · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Google audio (BETA)

    Lyric Search: Carry a laser down the road that I must travel

    Did you mean: Kyrie eleison down the road that I must travel?

    --
    Your courageous and selfless spelling corrections have made me a better person.
    1. Re:A little sample of what's to come by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Lyric Search: This song blows but'll still make millions.

      Did you mean: Nickleback?

  7. Re:Its a Fractal by X0563511 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Either way, Apple hates being tied to vendors,

    Which is funny to me, as they seem to have no problem tying people to them.

    --
    For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
  8. Re:Google did a few years ago... by ozmanjusri · · Score: 5, Insightful
    they're talking about iTMS here, not just the iTunes player.

    Yep, it's about a music store.

    It makes sense for Google to have a content store for their Android phones, and it's clear Apple doesn't want to play nice with competitors (Palm Pre, anyone?). I just hope Google do it so well that they frighten Apple into dropping prices and restrictions.

    It's a market that's begging for a little real competition.

    --
    "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
  9. Re:Its a Fractal by indiechild · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You're totally missing the point, and if you ever entered the portable music player business you would crash and burn horribly.

    People don't want flashy gadgets with a million and one features which are hard to use. iPods took over the market because they are easy to use, and buying or managing your music is an absolute snap.

    Other competitors were free to do the same, but they never did, because they think just like you do: they totally dismiss the power of usability and ease of use. Most people in the world aren't Slashdot geeks.

    User interaction design and usability doesn't just apply to portable music players, it applies to just about anything you interact with in everyday life. A lot of people are so used to mediocre engineering and design that they take these frustrations for granted. Apple is a company that spends their time addressing these issues and making things easier for the user, but sadly few other companies do.

    Read "The Design of Everyday Things" by Donald Norman sometime, it's a real eye opener.