It's been on the cards for months, nay, years even, but Google have finally unveiled its own music streaming service, not-so-snappily titled Google Play Music All Access. Though there's still much to learn about the search giant's new music offering, here's a quick guide to everything revealed about Google Play Music All Access so far:
"Millions" of songs

To take on the mighty Spotify, who've proved that music streaming is a viable business model (and revolutionising the distribution of music in the process), Google have had to amass a gigantic library of tracks for streaming in Google Play Music All Access. Though the company haven't pinpointed a precise figure, they have revealed that "millions" of tracks will be available to playback through the service.

And, having secured licensing deals with major publishers including Sony, Universal and Warner, top artists including everyone from Justin Bieber to Cheatahs will be available to stream.

"This is radio without rules," said Chris Yerga, Google's engineering director. "It's as 'leanback' as you want to, or as interactive as you want to."

Features

The service will support user curated playlists, and can also be used in conjunction with the Google Music locker to access your own personal library of tracks that have been uploaded to Google cloud services. Their will also be a "Radio" feature, mixing together a playlist of songs based on user-set parameters such as genre or favourite artist, and an "Explore" feature that will offer music recommendations based on your taste.

Compatible devices

As you'd expect, Google Play Music All Access will be available to user's of Google own Android operating system across tablets and smartphones, as well as through web browsers on PC and Mac. It's not yet clear yet whether Google will offer app versions of the service to Apple's iOS devices, or to the Windows Phone or BlackBerry 10 platforms.

Pricing

Google's streaming service will cost $9.99 a month (roughly £5.60), giving unlimited access to the millions of songs in the library across all a user's compatible devices. Those who sign up for the service before June 30 will get a reduced monthly rate of $7.99 a month, an attempt by Google to court early adopters away from rival Spotify, whose own Premium service costs $9.99. No pricing however has been revealed outside of the US, but we'd imagine it's just a case of swapping those "$" signs for "£" signs instead. We always have to pay a bit more, right? It's our lot in life.

Free Trial, but no "Freemium" ad-funded option

First-time users of Google Play Music All Access get a 30-day free trial with the service, letting them test all its features before deciding on whether or not to commit to a subscription. However, unlike Spotify, once that's up, you've got to cough up the cash to continue listening - Google will not be offering an ad-funded option for freeloaders.

For a new service like Google Play Music All Access, a "freemium" ad-funded offering is both a blessing and a curse, allowing you to expand the reach of your service and court more potential customers. However, it has its problems too - why pay for the cow when you can have the milk for free? Spotify, for instance, has over 24 million users, but only million of them pay to play.

Launch

Google Play Music All Access is available now in the US, and will roll out to more countries soon. No word yet on a UK launch, but we'll keep you posted.

Google are looking to make multiplayer gaming a bigger part of the Android ecosystem, with a new service called Google Play Games uncovered by Android Police.

Part of Google Play Services (v3.1.36), the update will add in multiplayer features such as notifications, matchmaking and game invites (naturally channelled through Google+ circles, of course), as well as other features including synced game saves over the cloud to multiple Android devices, console-like achievements and finally public and Google+ circles centred leaderboards.

Said to be rolling out gradually over the coming days and weeks, it's not yet clear which games will tie into the new services, or whether it will be a global feature set for all games.

The timing however is perfect, as Android begins to establish itself as a notable gaming platform with the release of the crowd-funded Ouya games console and plug-and-play Game Stick.

It also gives Google the chance to more competently take on Apple's strong gaming credentials, with iOS's Game Center features offering similar functionality to what seems set to be present in the Android alternative.

With Google's annual I/O conference kicking off this week, expect all the details to be ironed out in the coming days.

Google are planning a significant re-design for the web version of their incredible Google Maps service.

Google Operating System, a blog dedicated to all things Google, have uncovered evidence to suggest that Google will be doing away with Maps' current sidebar layout in favour of full screen maps.

Additional information, such as location details and directions, will appear as layover windows that float above the maps.

The new system will also offer users a filter option, plucking only the most recommended amenities or points of interest from a cluttered map, and highlighting places flagged up by Google+ circles pals.

While the report doesn't pinpoint exactly when the new-look will land, it hints that next week's annual Google I/O conference could see the re-design debut.

UPDATE:
Google has informed us that the offensive app has now been flagged for investigation, and issued this statement:

The original story follows.

We've covered some bad apps over the years, usually because they're either comically awful or attempting to rip you off. Sometimes they're both. But it's not often we pick up on an app just because it makes us so angry.

But that's what "Racist Jokes" on the Google Play store has inspired us to do, made all the worse by the fact that Google seem to be making money from it.

As spotted by app expert (and former Tech Digest writer) Stuart Dredge, it's full of the sort of naff, unfunny and (most importantly) massively offensive jokes that should be left in the notebooks of "naive" (to put it euphemistically) comedians of the 1970s.

Now, there's much to recommend about the Google Play store being open to all sorts of submissions, allowing for a wide range of apps that would never make their way onto Apple's App Store. Sometime that means they're just a bit rubbish, down to poor quality control, but sometimes it means that you can get hold of great Android apps that give you far more control over how your phone works than you ever could on iOS, down to that very same open nature.

But when horrible stuff like this slips through the cracks, it makes us wish Google paid a bit more attention to what's going up, and what's putting cash in their pockets.

Racist Jokes costs 0.63p, and with Google taking a 30% cut of its estimated 1,000 to 5,000 current sales tally, the company are actually making money out of bigotry.

The argument that, by writing this post, we're giving the app some sort of profile, is somewhat valid, but if such horrible content is allowed to go onto the Play store unchecked, how else will it ever be policed? A quick search on the store shows there are at least two similar apps already on the Google Play store, and no obvious parallel on Apple's App Store.

While the Cupertino company's App Store approval process can sometimes seem draconian, at least it sets standards that prevents this sort of rubbish going up.

The Racist Jokes app has so far only had a few thousand downloads, and you could argue that the Play store polices itself through the user submitted ratings.

Racist Jokes currently has a score of 3.5 out of 5. It doesn't take a master mathematician to figure out that's an above average score.

So what if an easily influenced youngster comes across this relatively high scoring app looking for what's advertised as an opportunity to "get in on the comedy"? There's freedom of speech to consider, but also the potential this app has to cause upset and inspire hatred.

We believe it shouldn't be allowed. In the UK, the app may even fall foul of Racist and Religious crime laws according to CPS guidance.

We've contacted the developers Viper Gaming for comment, and have contacted Google too. We'll update this post once we get a response.

Nook HD and Nook HD+ owners rejoice! You're finally getting access to the Google Play store.

Arguably the last feature holding the slates back from being "proper" Android tablets, the duo will also get a smattering of other Google goodies, including YouTube, Gmail and Chrome apps, as well as integrated Google Search.

The update also brings the wide range of books, magazines, movies and music available from Google's store to the tablets.

"By adding Google Play to NOOK HD and NOOK HD+, we are offering our customers even more great entertainment on our award-winning tablets," said William Lynch, chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble.

"Now with access to more than 700,000 apps and the best reading experience available, both are must-see products for entertainment lovers looking for high-quality tablets at incredibly low prices."

The Nook tablets currently use a highly modified version of Android, much like the Kindle Fire tablets, pushing the Barnes & Noble content to the fore.

Earlier this week, Barnes & Noble slashed the prices of their tablet and eReader ranges. A limited offer to coincide with the "Get London Reading" campaign, the Nook HD and Nook HD+ are now sitting at £129 and £179, while the Nook Simple Touch GlowLight eReader is priced at £69 and the Nook Simple Touch eReader a bonkers £29.

Google Glass appears to be not the only wearable tech project Google are working on, with a new patent for a smartwatch from the search giants being unearthed today.

Titled a "Smart-watch with user interface features" by the USPTO patent, it looks like Google will be looking at ways to combat any potential iWatch threat that Apple may be putting together.

The patent shows a few details of what Google may have planned for such a device too.

Recognising that it's "a platform with limited space available for user input", the patent outlines a watch with two touchpads sat either side of the display face, allowing for ambidextrous comfortable operation of the wristwatch, no matter what hand it sits on, much like the button-flanked Amazon Kindle eReader with keyboard.

Another obvious feature would be to pair the watch with Google's Glass headset, allowing control of the button-shy specs to be handled by the watch. However, given gesture based apps like wink-photography-capable Winky now hitting the head-mounted platform, perhaps such additional hardware will be superfluous to Glass's needs.

With Glass already confirmed to support Android, pairing the specs with a smartphone or a wrist-based connected device makes sound sense though. Expect to see a crossover device like this to land alongside Glass before long.

Google's Android OS has claimed the biggest slice of the tablet market share for the first quarter of 2013.

Analysts over at IDC have seen Android tablet sales account for 56.5% of all tablets sold in the first three months of the year, while Apple's iOS slates sat in second with 39.6% share.

However, with Apple the sole manufacturer of iOS tablets compared to the multitude of Android tablet manufacturers, Apple stayed the single biggest tablet selling company, shipping 19.5 million devices and even out doing IDC's own optimistic predictions.

Samsung hit second place on the manufacturers list, shipping 8.8 million units, with Microsoft hitting the top five for the first time, managing to shift 900,000 Windows-based Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets.

"Sustained demand for the iPad mini and increasingly strong commercial shipments led to a better-than-expected first quarter for Apple," said Tom Mainelli, research director of tablets at IDC.

"In addition, by moving the iPad launch to the fourth quarter of 2012, Apple seems to have avoided the typical first-quarter slowdown that traditionally occurred when consumers held off buying in January and February in anticipation of a new product launch in March."

Total tablets sales over the quarter hit 49.2 million, a 142% year-on-year increase that overshadows sales of even the first 6 months of last year.

As if a "cheeky wink" wasn't already a creepy enough gesture as it was, it's now gained the ability to power stealthy perv-photos the world over thanks to the Google Glass augmented reality specs.

Developer Mike DiGiovanni has put together an app called Winky for Google Glass dev kits that allow a user to power up the specs from standby and take photos just by winking.

You can see the system in action here.

Of course, a rather prolonged, deliberate wink is required to activate the function (otherwise blinks would be firing off photos all the time), but it's great that hands-off controls are being implemented into the glasses even at this early stage. That's where these things become really useful, right?

As DiGiovanni believes, this "really changes things" for Google Glass, bringing it a step towards the sort of gesture-based functionality that made Android and iOS so simple to use with their tactile hardware. What it doesn't change however, is the privacy concerns already associated with Glass - if a wink ever was a playful gesture, anyone wearing Glass that sends one my way will be treated with great suspicion.

If you're lucky enough to have a Glass developer kit, you can grab the Winky source code here.

Google's superb Google Now digital personal assistant service is now available for the iPhone and iPad.

Landing as an update to the iOS Google Search app, Google Now has until this point been an exclusive feature of Android versions 4.1 and above.

Tapping into your Google accounts (Gmail, Calendar etc), your search history and current location, Google Now presents you with cards offering all manner of information, from the weather, local transport updates, sports results, meeting reminders (with directions) and local amenities. You can tweak the app to show you content more relevant to your needs, dismissing information that's not required.

One of the best things about Android, you may be surprised that Google has opened it up to Apple users. But ultimately Google wants as many people as possible using its services and viewing its ads, so it's ultimately an inevitable release. Anyway, Android users still get the superior version of Google Now, where it runs constantly in the background, pushing notifications and a readily available stream of relevant information at users from a single long-press of the home button.

Recently uncovered code has also suggested that Google Now will soon launch as the default view of the desktop Google homepage for users signed in to the search engine's services.

Grab the updated iOS app by clicking here. Those with the Google Search app already installed on their iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices will get Google Now through an app update.

Time to revise those Christmas wishlists, as Google have revealed there's still quite a wait until their futuristic Google Glass spectacles go on sale.

Speaking to Radio 4's World at One time over the weekend, Google's executive chairman, revealed that it'll be around a year until Glass goes on sale to the general public, laying to rest rumours that Google Glass may launch before the holiday period this year.

Right now, Google Glass is in the hands of a select number of testers as part of the Glass Explorer program. Picked between developers, people of note and members of the general public from social media channels, each successful candidate for the Glass Explorer program also had to cough up $1,500 for the privilege. The Explorer program will give Google a chance to perform some real-world testing with the technology before it goes into mass production and widespread usage.

Indeed, Schmidt is aware that there are potential privacy issues involved with such a disruptive piece of technology. Speaking during the radio show in reply to questions of privacy concerns, Schmidt agreed that "the fact of the matter is that we'll have to develop some new social etiquette. It's obviously not appropriate to wear these glasses in situations where recording is not correct."

Last week a plucky Google Explorer candidate looked to make a quick buck by listing a pair of Google's glasses on eBay. It had attracted more than £59,000 worth of bids before being pulled due to breaking Google's Explorer Program terms and conditions.

Google have defended their UK tax-dodging practices following calls that they should pay a greater amount of tax in line with the wealth and earnings of the company.

Despite being valued at $268.4 billion (£176bn), Google have needed only pay £6 million in corporation tax for a year's trading in the UK. In these times of austerity measures, many have called Google's minuscule tax bill farcical. But the company's executive chairman Eric Schmidt has justified their company's accounting techniques on the basis that many UK businesses use UK services.

"Britain has been a very good market for us," Schmidt told the BBC.

"We empower literally billions of pounds of start-ups through our advertising network and so forth. And we're a key part of the electronic commerce expansion of Britain, which is driving a lot of economic growth for the country."

Schmidt also wagged a finger at other big companies using similar tax-avoidance techniques, stating that they have to come under as much scrutiny as Google if at all:

"The same is true for British firms operating in the US, for example. II think the most important thing to say about our taxes is that we fully comply with the law and we'll obviously, should the law change, we'll comply with that as well."

With both Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page worth around £15 billion each, the UK tax bill would look like pocket money even if coming out of their own wallets. But Schmidt has a point; until UK law is changed so as to prevent such exploitation, the likes of Google will milk the tax system for all its worth. Lobby your local MP if you want to see some changes - here's a good guide to getting them to take notice of you and your concerns.

Google's Nexus 4 was one of the best Android phones available last year, putting top-specs in a cut-price handset. According to SIDHTech, it now looks as though Google are looking to give the smartphone a 2013 makeover, updating the storage and network capabilities of the sought after phone.

The original Nexus 4 came in only 8GB and 16GB sizes, but the rumoured new addition to the line will double the storage capacity up to 32GB. The Autumn launch of the handset also saw 4G LTE connectivity a bizarre omission, and that too now will be rectified in the 32GB version.

These networking upgrades will come compete with CDMA support, giving the handset compatibility with as wide a range of high-speed networks as possible.

The revised Nexus 4, which may well have been on the cards since the line's initial launch (itself beset by stock shortages), is expected to land during Google's annual I/O conference in May.

This year's I/O conference is also expected to see the unveiling of the latest build of Android, 5.0 Key Lime Pie, and it's possible that the revamped Nexus 4 could ship with the newest version of Google's mobile operating system baked in.

We loved the Google Nexus 4. Read our in-depth analysis on the top notch Android mobile by clicking here.

Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt has revealed that his company are still keen to have their Google Maps service reinstated as the default mapping application on Apple's iPhone.

Speaking at an AllThingsD mobile conference on Tuesday, the Google top dog said his team are pushing Apple to become the default maps service once again.

"We would still really like them to use our maps," said Schmidt. "It would be easy for them to take the app in the store and put it as their basic one."

However, Schmidt declined to confirm whether or not official talks on the subject were taking place with the Cupertino smartphone manufacturer, as well as declining to comment on why Apple choose to launch their own alternative service.

Apple dropped Google Maps as the default mapping service from iOs devices in September 2012 with the launch of iOS 6. The mobile operating system update saw Apple install their own Apple Maps application as the default cartography service instead.

However, the launch of Apple Maps was much derided, thanks to the applications inaccuracies and blurry satellite photography.

So fierce was the backlash that Apple CEO Tim Cook was forced to issue a public apology, pointing to the Google Maps web service as al alternative.

When the default provider on iOS devices Google Maps wasn't available through the App Store, but following the pull Google made the service available through the Apple store. Upon the iOs version of Google Maps' release, it was downloaded over 10 million times in just 48 hours. It's also credited with boosting iOS 6 adoption by 29% following its launch.

Looking to get in on the Google Glass futuristic headset wearing craze earlier than the rest of the gadget-loving pack? Then head over to eBay where, if you've got the dough, you can bid on a live auction for one of the pairs of augmented reality specs.

Google have been sharing the Glass glasses with only select developers and evangelists, but opened the pre-release user base a little wider recently with the #ifihadglass Twitter competition, asking for inventive uses for their Glass gear (and $1,500) in exchange for access to a limited number of Explorer Edition headsets.

The eBayer responsible for the current auction, raenblow, claims to have been one of the lucky competition winners, stating in the auction description:

"I was selected to try Google Glass. I was contacted via twitter and can send a screen shot. I will get details in a few weeks to pick them up!"

So far the auction has hit $90,100 (just over £59,000), with 28 bids and over 3 days until the auction closes. Click here to check it out.

With no firm release date for the launch of Google Glass in place, it seems there are many keen to pay top dollar to get early access to the Robocop-like gear, or at least a lot of eBay pranksters with no intention of ever coughing up the cash.

Either way, it's unlikely that the final transaction will be allowed to be completed. Google explicitly state that the Google Glass competition winners cannot resell or even gift the Google Glass headsets they get, so expect Google to intervene here some point soon.

Yesterday saw the first firm specifications for Google Glass revealed, including 16GB of storage, 720p video recording and an all-day battery life.

The official specifications for the futuristic Google Glass augmented reality headsets have been revealed.

Spotted by 9to5Google on an official support page, the Google-authored document reveals exactly what to expect from the head-mounted computers.

A 5MP camera with 720p recording capabilities is built in, alongside 16GB of storage (12GB useable), alongside Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

The specs will pair with Android devices running versions 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich or higher through an app called MyGlass, which will let Glass piggyback a phone or tablet's GPS for mapping info. iPhone compatibility has previously been hinted at too.

Rather than using earphones, the Glass headsets will use bone conduction, vibrating bones in your ear through your head, which despite the description is a pain-free way of getting crystal clear audio far more impressive than most earbuds.

The screen technology works by by using a tiny projector in the headset, which bounces light off a prism in the glasses directly into your eyes, allowing graphics to be overlaid onto your normal vision and allowing you to see the world around you fairly clearly. It will feel as though looking at a 25-inch screen from a distance of 2 metres.

As for the frames adjustable nosepads and durable materials are used, allowing the Glass to fit all face sizes. A microUSB charger is used to top up the battery, which should last a day's use, though activities like Google Hangouts or video recording will drain that a bit quickly.

Excited, or terrified? Regardless of your stance on the privacy concerns raised by the technology, there's no denying that the Google Glass headsets sound very futuristic, particularly that light prism system.

Google have removed 60,000 spam apps from the Google Play store over the course of February, the company's largest ever app cull.

Whereas Apple's App Store has strict guidelines as to what is suitable for its software marketplace, and an approval process that vets all apps before distribution, Google's Play Store is more lax in its app approval process, leading to the need for such a cull.

Uncovered by TechCrunch via "a company in the mobile app industry which has insight into changes like this," it's thought that improvements to Google's spam-detecting algorithms are as much the reason for the higher number as any concerted effort from the company.

The move follows a redesign of the Google Play store, intended to make navigation of the store and browsing of the growing number of applications available through it simpler. It's gradually rolling out to all Android users over the coming days.

It's likely that with the launch of the new version of Android, Key Lime Pie, expected to launch before the end of the summer, Google are looking to get their house in order. Sprucing up the app store and cutting the crap will definitely help pull the operating system into fighting-fit shape ahead of the launch.

We're pretty sure that Apple have a Retina display-packing iPad Mini 2 waiting in the wings in their Cupertino R&D labs, and now there's suggestion that Google may be lining up a high resolution tablet of their own.

According to new research by industry analysts DisplaySearch, Google are working on a HD revamp of their popular (and cheap!) Google Nexus 7 line. The seven-inch tablet would sport a resolution of 1920x1200, making it slightly higher resolution than a full HD 1080p slate.

If true, it'd be a screen to match the Retina Display said to be coming to the iPad Mini 2. Apple's Retina screen would be a 2048x1563 panel with a pixel density of 324 pixels per inch (ppi), replacing the current 1024x768 iPad Mini. Given the Nexus 7's smaller screen size, its rumoured HD screen would offer a sharpness of 323 ppi, putting it on a par with the iPad Mini.

If true, it'll certainly make choosing between the two new tablets a challenge. Filed in the rumour category for now, we'll be keeping a close eye on the smaller tablets in the coming months. We'll be sure to keepy ou posted with any new developments.

The internet may be weeping at the news that Google Reader may be about to close, but one person of note won't be shedding a tear. Dave Winer, an instrumental figure in both the invention of RSS feeds and blogs, couldn't give a hoot.

Posting on his blog, he admitted:

"I won't miss it. Never used the damn thing. Didn't trust the idea of a big company like Google's interests being so aligned with mine that I could trust them to get all my news.

"And besides, I didn't think the mailbox approach to news was right. Who cares how many unread items there are. I like the river of news approach and I have a very fine set of rivers that keep me well supplied with news and podcasts."

If anything, Winer believes there's potential for this to be a great period of growth for RSS.

"It's possible to use RSS without being dependent on Google Reader. And since GR is going away, that should probably be seen as good news, not bad.

"People will be well-served by a newly revitalized market for RSS products, now that the dominant product, the 800-pound gorilla, is withdrawing."

Winer's main fears lie with Google controlling exactly what news we're presented with, and the commercial interests behind that. Though he praises the interface of Google Now, which he sees as Reader's natural successor, he's also weary of it:

"It's creepy in two ways. One way most people see is that it's snooping on what you do to figure out what you want to read. The second way: It's also deciding what you don't see.

"The content of my (news) river is not determined by any tech company. Do I think it will stay that way? It's possible that it might not."

All eyes may this week be on the Samsung Galaxy S4 launch, set to break cover this Thursday, but there's another Android phone we should all be keeping our eyes on: Google's rumoured Motorola X Phone.

Set to be the first real fruits of the Motorola/Google partnership, Android World have got their mitts on what they claim to be the handsets specs list.

If accurate, the X Phone will land not only with the latest Key Lime Pie Android build, but also eye-tracking for scrolling web pages, a feature expected to be headlining the Galaxy S4 launch this week. Could the Galaxy S4's most intriguing rumoured feature be about to become baked into stock Android anyway? With the X Phone posed to be the device to showcase the latest Android innovations, it certainly seems so.

On the hardware front, the X Phone is said to have a 4.7-inch Full HD 1080p screen, a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4i processor, a 16MP rear camera and a 5MP one handling the eye-tracking up front.

It'll even manage to shave a few millimetres off the slim RAZR MAXX HD chassis, measuring 131.2 x 66.7 x 7.9 mm.

Of course, take the rumoured specs here with a pinch of salt. But with the HTC One launch wrapped up, the Sony Xperia Z and the forthcoming launch of the Galaxy S4, it's looking quite the year for Android.

Remember MC Hammer's shoes in his "Hammerman" cartoon? Then you're going to love this; Google have been showing off a pair of talking shoes at this year's South by Southwest festival.

Google, YesYesNo, ad agency 72andSunny, and Adidas have paired up to make the chatty trainers, which use an accelerometer, a gyroscope, Bluetooth and a speaker to have the shoes shout commands and information at you as you walk around.

"By connecting a pair of sneakers to the web, we're creating unique opportunities between physical objects and digitalt ad spaces. Every move the user makes generates data that's captured using an accelerometer, gyroscope and pressure sensors," reads a statement on the project's website.

"That data then gets pushed to a web app on your mobile phone and translated in real-time into funny and motivating commentary."

The advertising element is most interesting - with an ad-agency on board with the shoes, this could be the first step (every pun intended) towards wearable technologies with geo-aware ad-serving capabilities.

Though its unlikely the sneakers will be leaving the concept stage anytime soon, Google are heavily invested in wearable computing. They're currently running trials of their Google Glass headsets, web-connected augmented reality glasses that overlay digital information onto your surroundings.