On Wednesday, Android head Andy Rubin said that Google’s Music Store will offer a special “twist” that will separate it from its competitors. Speaking to Business Insider, an anonymous record industry source said the “twist” is that Google Music users will be able to share songs with other users “on a limited basis.” Reportedly, the catch is that users will need to purchase the song first and friends will only be able to listen to the track for a limited amount of ti...

Google will announce and launch its own music store this quarter, Business Insider said recently. The company revealed its Music beta service in May, which allows users to store up to 20,000 songs in the cloud, but now users will be able to purchase and download tracks, too. Google is reportedly already in negotiations with the major music labels and The New York Times recently reported that the service will launch in the “next several weeks.” Record labels, however, are worried that Google’...

Unlike Amazon and Google who launched half-baked cloud storage services for music, it’s going to be Apple that shows the world how something is done properly once again, it seems. According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple has finally struck deals with the four major recording companies in addition to movie studios:Apple Inc. has reached terms with major recorded-music companies to allow it to launch a digital locker service that would be more robust than those currently offered by Google Inc. and Am...

Android is planning to release an “entire family” of Android-powered devices, not just one tablet as originally thought, according to Android and Me. The rumor hasn’t specified whether or not Amazon is planning multiple sized tablets, or a tablet and a new Android-powered eReader, although there’s some speculation that a smartphone could be in the works too. It’s no secret that the company is working on at least one tablet. Earlier this week Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, said &...

Apple’s next-generation iPod nano may ditch the clip design and instead feature a 1.3-megapixel camera, according to leaked images posted by Taiwanese blog Apple.pro. The overall design of the unit looks similar to the current iPod nano, although there’s a chrome border around the new camera and the metal exterior has a noticeably deeper green hue, which suggests new colors are on the way. We’re a bit surprised at the lack of a clip on the nano, though, as most people we’ve seen with t...

Amazon’s Cloud Player, which provides access to music stored on your Amazon Cloud Drive, is now working in Safari on iOS devices including the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Amazon hasn’t announced the support just yet, but if you navigate to your Amazon Cloud Player account from an iOS device — and ignore a few warnings about your device not being supported — you’ll be able to access and play all of your tunes. As TechCrunch first spotted, your music will also pause if you receive a phon...

Record labels seem to have a hard time understanding one, simple truth: after a consumer purchases a song — be it on a CD or digitally — the consumer owns that file. Period. It is, however, nice to know that at least one large corporation respects that fact, Amazon. In a letter penned to music labels, the online retail giant stated that its new Cloud Drive music service has boosted digital MP3 sales and goes on to explain why it does not need permission from record labels for its use. “There has...

Via a press release this morning, U.S. wireless carrier Sprint announced a new music service offering for its customers dubbed Sprint Music Plus. Powered by RealNetworks, the new service will allow users to purchase DRM-free, MP3 music tracks and ringtones starting at just $0.69. “Sprint Music Plus is available for Android powered Sprint smartphones from the Sprint Zone app and can be found on the home screen of BlackBerry and Java Feature Phones launched after May 2010,” reads the press release....

According to new third quarter figures issued by market research firm NPD Group, Apple’s iTunes music store now accounts for 66.2% of online music purchases, up from 63.2% in the same quarter last year. Apple’s biggest competitor in the space, Amazon, currently holds 13.3% of the market. Executives from major labels suggest the disparity could be even larger, with Amazon owning just 6% to 10% of the market while Apple’s share is nearly 90%. Pricing, often a major factor in retail sales, does...

Today, RIM and Amazon.com launched Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry smartphones, giving BlackBerry smartphone users in the U.S. access to Amazon’s catalog of over 14 million songs. Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry smartphones allows users to browse, preview, download, store, and tell friends about their favorite music all at the touch of a fingertip.Key features include:Download music via Wi-Fi or over the air (OTA)Browse by what’s new, deals, top songs, top albums, genres, and sub genresCheck back every day for the Fr...

A recent report filed by Reuters aims to shed some light on how online retail giant Amazon plans to commandeer market share of digital-music downloads from Apple’s iTunes Music Store. The current state of music downloads in the U.S. has AmazonMP3 with a 1.3% market share, while Apple’s iTunes holds a 26.7% share. To try and narrow this market gap, Amazon is doing what it does best: deep discounting. The online retailer’s Daily Deal has been a huge success in boosting sales. Recently, th...

Sprint has officially announced a maintenance-release software update for the Samsung Epic 4G; an update that was pseudo announced yesterday via a forum administrator. The details on the update are as follows:9/30 – Samsung Epic Maintenance ReleaseFixes:WiFi standby battery drainAmazon MP3 cannot download in 4GLarge emails lag in upload speedsIncreased 3G upload speedsUpdate your softwareThe software will be automatically downloaded to your phone since this is a recommended update.A System update scree...

Today, Roku and MP3tunes announced a partnership that will bring your iTunes music library to your television. MP3tunes, for those not familiar, is a company that provides “secure online music space” and features “unlimited listening.” The company’s website boasts, “With just a couple clicks, Locker users can sync their personal digital music and video up to ‘the cloud’ for enjoying from any web browser and a wide variety of mobile and home entertainment devic...

Remember when you could download all of the MP3s you wanted from peer-to-peer site Napster and not get sued by the RIAA? Remember trying to find an audio player that would play all of those pesky MP3s? Remember Winamp?!? Initially monikered WinAMP, the audio player was first released on April 21, 1997. Winamp gained popularity among audiophiles for being feature-rich, small, free, and compatible. Winamp also won fans over with its skinable interface, allowing you to inflict your personal steez on your media p...