Hasta La Gadget!

In the midst of all the new stuff that Google announced today were some smaller bit of news, but still pretty crucial, especially for music lovers. Google signed a deal with Warner Music Group to bring even more music to the Google Play store. This means that Google is now partnered with all of the major music labels.

Hundreds of artists will now be added to Google Play’s already large selection of music, and it’ll now include bands and musicians like Green Day, Madonna, Neil Young, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers just to name a few. Google’s Andy Rubin says that the company is “now working with all of the major record labels globally, and all the major US magazine publishers, as well as many independent labels, artists and publishers.”

Google also announced that Google Play music is coming to Europe on November 13. Listeners in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain will be able to start listening and buying music from the Google Play store, and they’ll also be able to use the free 20,000 song upload limit that other users take advantage of to get their personal music library connected to their Google account.

Warner Music Group controls about 15% of the world’s music, which is certainly a huge chunk considering how much music is actually out there. However, it seems it hasn’t been in too much of a hurry to sign deals with various online music services. It was the last label to sign with Google, and it was also the last big record label to sign a deal with Spotify.

[via New York Times]

Google partners up with Warner Music Group is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Sprint announced on Wednesday the availability of its new Direct Connect Now Android app, which brings push-to-talk capabilities to the Kyocera Rise and LG Optimus Elite with support for other devices “coming soon.” Compatible with both Nextel and Sprint Direct Connect devices, this free app features group calls for up to 21 people, touchscreen controls, call alert notifications and contact synchronization. While we appreciate this advancement in push-to-talk communication, we can’t help but shed a tear reminiscing about the good old days of Boost Mobile’s “where you at?” campaign. Please join us as we pour one out and celebrate faded memories of the chirp.

Continue reading Where you at? Sprint Direct Connect Now brings push-to-talk to select Android devices

Filed under: Mobile, Sprint

Where you at? Sprint Direct Connect Now brings push-to-talk to select Android devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’ve been with T-Mobile or AT&T in the past and miss your ability to add Google Play purchases to your carrier bill each month now that you’re on Verizon, you’ll be glad to know that they’ll be joining the party too quite soon. A confirmation of this update to the Google Play store as well as Verizon’s connection to it has come through today via Google Play’s official twitter account, complete with a date range for the roll out. If you’re on Verizon you’ll be able to add digital purchases to your normal carrier bill starting soon – within the next few weeks, in fact!

The notification lets us know that Google play will be adding Verizon to their roster of digital billing connections with apps, music, “and more” quite soon. We’re not sure at the moment if this means that books and movies / TV shows are off the table at the moment – more likely it’s just due to the 140 character limit on a Tweet with the other two categories simply implied.

According to a leak discovered by Droid Life, there may be a $25 USD a month limit to your carrier billing when the program launches. This amount may go up as Verizon decides whether or not customers are in danger of spending their whole life’s savings each week – as is the situation when you’ve got downloads that very much appear to be free, but certainly are not. This update will have all four of the top carriers in the USA added to the carrier billing roster.

Have a peek at the timeline below of other recent updates to the Google Play universe. Google is intending on keeping up with the rest of the digital universe with sales of books, magazines, TV shows, movies, music, apps, and games for some time into the future. Keep your eyes peeled for more additions to the way you can keep up with Google’s stores, too!

Verizon carrier billing coming to Google Play is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’re on Verizon and don’t feel like racking up your plastic when you buy Play store apps or content, the carrier will soon give you the option of putting it on your phone bill, according to a recent Google tweet. Mountain View’s had the option for a while now, with T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T having already jumped on the app-billing bandwagon, which left Verizon as the final major to climb aboard. Other than saying that you’ll be able to bill apps and music that way, details are scant — but considering Big Red’s whopping Android lineup, it’s about time.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Verizon

Google to Verizon Android users: carrier billing coming to Play store originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 07:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re indecisive about that pricey but hard-to-find new app, Google Play will now be offering another option in its store — you can put it aside in a wishlist until you make up your mind. That new feature (which was espied in recent teardowns) is hitting devices now on a per-account basis, and if you have it (version 3.9.16) you’ll notice a bookmark icon near the top right of the screen when you load up an app page. When you tap that icon, the software will be added to your wishlist, which can be scoped from the menu button with the “My Wishlist” setting, saving you the trouble of searching it out later. Depending on your Android device’s settings, you may already have it or were notified of its availability — if so, happy shopping.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile, Google

Latest Google Play store update rolling out now, wishlists in tow originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 02:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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