Tech News: Google 'Cloud' Music drops tomorrow and MS buys Skype

[RockdaMan]

Google is preparing to show off a new music service at tomorrow’s I/O conference. And like Amazon’s launch earlier this year, the company is doing it without the approval of the major music labels and publishers.

Google Music will roughly mirror what Amazon showed off in March: A service that loads copies of music that users already own into an Internet-based server, which lets them stream them the songs over the Web and onto Android phones and tablets.

Google has originally planned a more robust version of the concept, which it was going to introduce with cooperation from the labels. But as I reported last month, talks between Google and the labels, which started a year ago, have hit an impasse, and Google has apparently decided that it would rather launch a reduced version of a music service than none at all.

“Unfortunately, a couple of the major labels were less focused on the innovative vision that we put forward, and more interested in in an unreasonable and unsustainable set of business terms,” says Jamie Rosenberg, who oversees digital content and strategy for Google’s Android platform.

The lack of licenses means that Google’s music service won’t have at least one thing that Amazon already has: The ability to sell songs to consumers.

http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/2011...sics-approval/

Microsoft is close to finalizing a deal to buy Skype for between $7 billion to $8 billion.

Facebook and Google were said to be earlier dance partners for Skype, and Microsoft was a late entrant and is now close to walking away with the prize.

the biggest reason for Microsoft to buy Skype is Windows Mobile and Nokia. The software giant needs a competitive offering to Google Voice and Apple’s emerging communication platform, Facetime.

http://gigaom.com/2011/05/09/why-mic...for-8-billion/

iPhone 3GS beats Android phone sales in April

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/gadgetrevi...in-april/24461