Google takes step forward to battle iTunes, Amazon in online music service

Google has began letting people store music collections in virtual online libraries in a challenge to Apple's popular iTunes shop as well as a similar service from Amazon.

Google Music does not sell songs but allows users to store personal collections in the internet "cloud" for streaming to smartphones, tablet computers or other gadgets.

Google Music is being rolled out on an invitation-only basis in the United States to test the service, which the California internet giant envisions eventually making available worldwide. In a statement, Google Australia said it didn't "have a timeline to announce for an Australian release".

"When you add your music to the new service, you can listen to it on the web on any compatible device," said Google product manager Paul Joyce.

Google was getting around having to cut deals with music labels by letting people store digital versions of songs they already own in online "lockers" which they can access using gadgets linked to the internet.

As many as 20,000 songs could be stored at Google Music, Joyce said at the internet search giant's annual developers conference in San Francisco.

Invitations can be requested online at music.google.com.

The music service is a "compelling platform" for eventually selling digital music, according to Google director of digital Jamie Rosenberg. "It has been in our interest and has been in our plans to work with the music industry to sell music.

"Unfortunately, some of the major labels were only interested in doing so on terms that were unreasonable," he said. "That isn't going to stop us."

Rosenberg contended that Google Music is "a completely legal" service akin to a person storing music collections on home computer hard drives.

Stored music could be streamed to gadgets but digital files cannot be downloaded for sharing or copying.

Google Music takes aim at a similar service launched in March by internet retail powerhouse Amazon.com and is a long-coming step toward taking on Apple's iTunes digital content shop.

With Amazon Cloud Drive and Cloud Player, users can upload digital music, photos, videos and documents to Amazon servers and access the files through web browsers or phones and tablet computers running Google's Android software.

Music bought from Amazon.com or Apple's iTunes or from a personal collection is held in a digital "music locker" on the internet and can be accessed from computers running Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari or Chrome web browsers.

Cloud Drive gives five gigabytes of free online storage to Amazon account holders and a free upgrade to 20GB with the purchase of an MP3 album. Users can also purchase 20GB for $US20 a year.

Google Music is free for the time being.

Apple sells music at iTunes and is reportedly working on an internet "cloud" storage service for streaming digital music collections but has not announced any plans.

Apple purchased an online music site called Lala.com in December 2009 which hosted digital music collections on the web.

"Google is trying to differentiate its Android platform because they want Android to dominate," said Wedbush Morgan Securities managing director of research Michael Pachter.

Pachter said the move was a necessary tactic to keep Android devices popular in the fierce smartphone and tablet markets but shouldn't be a big deal for consumers who already have options for getting or storing music online.

"Another vendor of the same content at the same price isn't very exciting," Pachter said. "But, by integrating it into all Android devices Google can make a competitive advantage for Google."

Google also used the opening of its developers conference to announce it is adding movie rentals to its Android Market offering digital content for devices running Android software.

Movie rental prices start at $US1.99 and films could then be streamed to any Android-powered device. People have 30 days to view rented movies, and must finish watching them within 24 hours of starting.

More than 100 million Android devices have been activated worldwide and 400,000 new gadgets powered by the Google-backed software are activated daily, according to Google product manager Hugo Barra.

Tweet

Do you know Heartbeat can charge your Cellphone??

Scientists have developed a tiny chip that can generate power by using the body's sown movement, a technology which they say could soon enable you to recharge your mobile phone by just holding closer to your heart.

Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology in the US who were behind the invention hoped that as the nanotechnology used in the chip evolves, it could lead to electronics which don't require batteries or mains power. Hailed as a milestone, it can use tiny movements such as the tip of the finger to generate power, British newspaper the Telegraph reported.

Zhong Lin Wang, who led the research, said, "This development represents a milestone toward producing portable electronics that can be powered by body movements without the use of batteries or electrical outlets."

Wang and his team used the device to power LCD displays and diodes, as well as to transmit a radio signal once its generated power has been stored. The device, they said, is thousands of times more powerful than its predecessors, allowing scientists to take the technology out of the lab for the first time.

The technology works by using zinc oxide nanowires, which generate electricity when strained or flexed. This mean virtually any body movement - from walking to a heartbeat - can generate power, the scientists said. Wang's team worked to capture and combine the power of millions of the nanowires, which are so small that 500 could fit in a human hair.

Five nanogenerators working together produced about one micro ampere output current at 3 volts about the same voltage generated by two regular AA batteries.

Tweet

Apple sues Amazon for using the words App Store

Apple is suing Amazon in a bid to stop the online retailer using the name App Store. In the lawsuit filed in a California federal court, Apple asked for an injunction and damages.

Amazon has been using the name for its mobile software development program and is selling mobile apps for Android handsets from today. In its complaint, Apple said: 'Customers of mobile software downloads are likely to be confused as to whether Amazon’s service is sponsored or approved by Apple.'

According to the lawsuit, Amazon is unlawfully using the trademark with what it calls the 'Amazon Appstore Developer Portal,' along with other instances like adverts for a version of Angry Birds, the popular mobile game.

Apple spokesman Kristin Huguet said: 'We've asked Amazon not to copy the name because it will confuse and mislead customers.' Apple has applied to register the App Store trademark in the U.S. which Bill Gates'
Microsoft opposes. The case is currently before a trademark trial and appeals board, according to the lawsuit.

Since Amazon's App Store is for Android, it will be a major source of contention with its rival, given how much market share Android is taking from Apple's devices.

The store has free and paid apps from Android software developers and includes the note-taking programme Evernote and the game PacMan. It also offers users the chance to test out many apps before buying them and giving visitors a paid app for free each day.

The first freebie will be Angry Birds Rio, a new version of the game that ties in with the animated movie. It normally costs $1. Apple has been using the name since July, 2008, when it began supplying apps for iPhone
and iPod touch. 

The two companies have been competing more directly over the last few years. Like the
Seattle-based Amazon, Apple now sells e-books and has been selling digital music and films through iTunes for several years.

An Amazon spokeswoman said the company does not comment on pending legislation.

Tweet

Car got brain too

Swedish car manufacturer Volvo has developed a new pedestrian detection system which it says can bring a car to a halt automatically whenever someone steps out in front of it. The "support function", which works by using radar and camera technology to watch out for vehicles and pedestrians ahead of the car, is designed to save lives on urban streets, said the company.

The system kicks in at speeds of up to 35kmph, although the technology "is active at all speeds", according to Volvo.

In case a collision is imminent, the system sends an audio warning to alert the driver, and if there is no response the car is immediately brought to an emergency stop, the Daily Mail reported. However, the technology that "is active at all speeds" doesn't work at night or in poor weather. But Volvo pointed out that "it is always the driver that is responsible for driving safely".

14% of all those killed in car accidents in Europe are pedestrians; this figure stands at 11% in the US.

Volvo estimates that its detection system would reduce the number of pedestrians killed by more than 20%, while the number of those seriously injured would fall by almost 30%.

In a further 30% of incidents, a collision would be entirely avoided, Volvo said. The collision warning system is also programmed to react if the vehicle in front is at a standstill or is moving in the same direction. The system is an optional extra in the Volvo XC60, S60 and V60.

Tweet

How to conduct electricity by using Plastic

Plastics usually conduct electricity so poorly that they are used to insulate electric cables. But, now scientists claim to have created a new array of plastics that can conduct electricity just like metal does. By placing a thin film of metal onto a plastic sheet and mixing it into the polymer surface with an ion beam, an international team has shown that the method can be used to make cheap, strong, flexible and conductive plastic films.

"What the team has been able to do here is use an ion beam to tune the properties of a plastic film so that it conducts electricity like the metals used in the electrical wires themselves, and even to act as a superconductor and pass electric current without resistance if cooled to low enough temperature," Prof Paul Meredith of University of Queensland, who led the team, said.

To demonstrate a potential application of this new material, the team produced electrical resistance thermometers that meet industrial standards. Tested against an industry standard platinum resistance thermometer, it had comparable or even superior accuracy. "This material is so interesting because we can take all the desirable aspects of polymers - such as mechanical flexibility, robustness and low cost - and into the mix add good electrical conductivity, something not associated with plastics.

It opens new avenues to making plastic electronics,"Prof. Adam Micolich of University of New South Wales, a team member, said. Team member Andrew Stephenson said the most exciting part about  the discovery is how precisely the film's ability to conduct or resist the flow of electrical current can be tuned. It opens up a broad potential for useful applications. "In fact, we can vary the electrical resistivity over 10 orders of magnitude. In theory, we can make plastics that conduct no electricity or as well as metals do - and everything in between," he said.

Tweet