Google Play Music is not compatible with the new Sony NSZ-GS7/GX70 units

Heads up if you're thinking about grabbing one of Sony's new Google TV set-top boxes -- unfortunately Google Play Music is not compatible with the device(s). The UPS man dropped one off here earlier, and I've been setting things up to replace my aging Logitech Revue, and just hit this, which is a showstopper for me. I'll have more thoughts and some first impressions of the device for you guys and gals tomorrow, but I wanted to spread the word in case you're a music lover and thinking of picking one up with today's paycheck.

We've got no idea whether we should point our fingers at Sony or Google over this one, but hopefully it can be rectified shortly. I've reached out to both parties, and will update everyone when I have something to share. For now, I'm switching inputs and going back to the Nexus Q so I can let Black Sabbath relax my tension away.

Google Music gets a major UI update

Google Music has received a pretty major UI overhaul, which brings the interface on previous phones and tablets up to par with the version that ships with the Nexus 7. In short -- it's a great update. The Music app now has the same feeling that the Google+ app has, with plenty of big images and the trademark Google app look. The change log:

• Now Playing queue that allows for queuing and reordering of currently playing music.


• New UI for navigation with transport controls on the action bar.


• New large album art view on Recent.


• Playlist art is now constructed from album art of songs in the playlist.


• Now Playing widget has album art and support for thumbs up.


• Harder, better, faster, stronger.

The changes are great, and the app now has a polish it lacked before. It's great to see the various teams at Google pushing out great updates for their Android apps. If you're a Google Music user (and you should be) this is one you won't want to miss. It's rolling out, including an update for the Nexus 7, via Google Play for devices running Android 2.2 or higher. Grab it at the link below.

Download Google Music from Google Play

Google: No Play Music, TV or Magazines for UK Nexus 7 at launch

It's something that shouldn't come as a surprise, and something we commented on yesterday, but now we have official word from Google that the UK won't be getting Play Music, Magazines or TV shows in time for its Nexus 7 launch. Old Blighty, which has Play Books, Apps and Movies, has long been without streaming Music support (without proxy-based black magic, at least), and wasn't included in Google's initial roll-out of TV and Magazine services.

A Google spokesperson told The Inquirer, "The UK version will feature all of the options currently available in the UK Play store." That'll be apps, books and movies only, then.

Though we recently bemoaned the lack of certain Google Play services internationally, we were holding out hope that a last minute switch-on might coincide with the Nexus 7 launch, so it's disappointing that that's not the case. Nevertheless, the Nexus 7 is still great value at its £159 price point. If you're considering picking one up, let us know if the lack of some Google Play services has you thinking twice.

More: Nexus 7: The internationally challenged tablet

Source: The Inquirer

PSA: ROMers beware! Google Music only allows four ‘device’ deauthorizations per year

Quick warning to the cross section of you that both love your Google Music and frequently flashing new ROMs onto your device(s), which I imagine might be quite a few of you.

Google has recently put a limit on the number of ‘devices’ that a user may deauthorize in a year and at just four that limit could definitely be a problem. If you weren’t already aware, the ceiling for devices that you can have authorized on a single Google Music account at any given time is ten.

I suspect if you are savvy enough to flash a new ROMs you can already see where the problem is, but for those that aren’t aware the phone is given a new ID within Google Music each time you register it after flashing a new ROM. So the same device could potentially eat up your entire quota after just a few new ROMs.

Considering the dedicated and often vocal ROM development community that Android has fostered, it’s possible that we will see some serious backlash over this which could in turn lead to a reversal or at least a softening of the policy by Google.

In the mean time if this sounds like it may be a problem for you I would recommend heading over to the XDA thread listed in the VIA link below as they are already discussing potential workarounds such as restoring accounts via Titanium Backup to avoid a new authorization.

I’m hoping this is one of those situations where the full ramifications of the policy change were not thought through properly and that we will see Google come up with a workable solution, but as the vast majority of users would never run into this problem it’s entirely possible that it will stand.

Cricket's Muve Music now available on the Huawei Mercury

Cricket is bringing some new life into the Huawei Mercury by now offering up its Muve Music service as an OTA download to the device. Cricket customers looking to get in on the action can bump up to the $65-a-month plan that offers unlimited song downloads, ringtones, and ringback tones from a catalog of more than five million songs. In addition, there's nationwide calling; unlimited text, picture, video messaging and 3G mobile data; mobile video; data back-up, and 411 assistance.

If you've been avoiding the Huawei Mercury due to its lack of Muve Music you can grab one now, outright for $230, and for that you'll be getting a Android 2.3 powered device with a 1.4Ghz processor along with and 8MP shooter on the back.

DoubleTwist Player gets an update, now supports pinned Google Play Music tracks

The folks at doubleTwist have updated their Android app to version 1.7.3, and it brings a pretty nice change log along with. In addition to playing your music collection from the device and syncing to your Windows or Mac computer, you can now play music you have downloaded and pinned from Google Play Music. We gave it a quick test and sure enough -- music downloaded and pinned is accessible through the doubleTwist player as well as across the network through the doubleTwist media server. This is a great addition for those that need to sync their music or simply prefer to not use drag and drop to copy songs.

In addition to the Google Play Music tool, album art search and download has been improved, AirPlay support has been tweaked to work with the latest AppleTV update, improvements have been made to the search feature, and the whole app has been trimmed down in size and bug fixes have been applied. It's worth mentioning that not all features are available in the free version of doubleTwist Player, but the ability to play pinned tracks from Google Play Music is. We love it when premium features come with a zero cost app. If you are using doubleTwist Player, grab your update from the Google Play store, and if not you can find a download link after the break.

Source: doubleTwist

SPC Music Sketchpad 2 [Android App Review]

YouTube link for mobile viewing

Music is something really close to my heart. It's what I'm majoring in (Go Bobcats!), something I've been involved in for years, and my other great passion besides writing about Android. When I'm lucky enough to find an app that combines music and Android, I'm in hog heaven. While SPC Music Sketchpad 2 (whew, that's a mouthful!) isn't as abstract as say, Plasma Sound, it's still really fun to use and powerful enough to create some really cool beats.

Once you open SPC 2, you're greeted with a grid of prepackaged sounds. Tap a sound and it starts to play, over and over. Each sound has a different pattern (and usually plays at a different time), so out of the box you've got some solid variety.

When you hit the pencil button you go into sound editing mode. When you touch a sound, instead of it turning on, you're taken to another grid where you can change when your sound activates, add more sounds, or turn it off completely. Then, you can save your edited sound so you don't have to remember how you changed it and redo the whole thing later.

There's also a cool effects panel where you can mess with things like distortion and reverb. Some of the effects are passive (just turn up their amount and they'll do their thing), but others you need to manually hit an effect button to have them work. (Distortion works this way.)

Finally, when you realize you've hit musical gold, you can record your sick beat onto your SD card, preserving it forever (or until your SD card fails). Assuming you get it onto a computer or other media device in a timely fashion, know that many dance parties will be had as the result of your musical ingenuity and tech-savvy nerdiness.

SPC Music Sketchpad 2 is $4.99 in the Google Play store for a limited time. We've got download links after the break.

AC picks: Apps from the world of rock music

Everyone likes different music, so some of you out there probably won't find anything contained within that will whet your appetite. Personally, I love rock music. If there's guitars involved there's a good chance i'll give it a try. It's a pretty diverse category with so much different -- and killer -- music to offer. 

As more and more people get smartphones, we're starting to see musicians use apps as a new way to reach their fans. Everyone (well nearly everyone) uses Facebook, Twitter, Google+ to keep up with their idols. But what about an app? Like all apps the offerings vary in quality, but a lot offer some really nice features for fans to take advantage of. 

What we don't seem to have is just an RSS reader with a smattering of pictures and tour dates. Video catalogues, music clips, even notifications are all available from some of the biggest and best in the world of rock. We've picked out a selection of apps to get you started which you'll find linked below. 

• Slayer


• Foo Fighters


• Incubus


• Red Hot Chilli Peppers


• Linkin Park 


• Five Finger Death Punch


• Ozzy Osbourne


• Bullet For My Valentine


• InnerPartySystem


• Bad Company


• Bon Jovi


• Nuclear Blast (label)


• Snow Patrol


• Skunk Anansie


• Pixies


• Black Label Society

If there's any that you guys feel deserve a mention, shout out in the comments and we'll build the list up. Lets rock!