Google Play Music arrives in Australia, New Zealand and five European countries

By Trevor Mogg April 10, 2013

Google has just rolled out its Music service to seven more countries – Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Portugal (still no Canada). The Web giant made the announcement on a Google+ page on Tuesday.

Music fans in the new locations will be able to store up to 20,000 tracks in the Google Music cloud for free, making them available for listening on any Android device with an Internet connection, or via the Web using a PC. Songs from a user’s existing collection can be uploaded to the cloud, while more tracks can be added through purchases made on the Google Play store.

Prior to Tuesday’s announcement, Google’s music service was available to users in the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK.

Also on Tuesday, the Mountain View company announced a new look for its Google Play store on Android phones and tablets. Images – larger and more prominent – are at the forefront of the new design, with the Mountain View company hoping the makeover will provide a better online shopping experience, whether you’re looking for apps, movies, TV shows, books, magazines or, of course, music.

Google says it’s also simplified the purchasing process, making it easier than ever to part with your dough. The update, for all devices running Android 2.2 and above, will be rolled out in the US this week, and across the rest of the world in the coming weeks.

Google has been expanding its Google Play store around the world little by little – Google Play Books came to Mexico in March, while Movies were introduced to users in Mexico and India, also last month. Meanwhile, Google Play gift cards launched recently in the UK, offering Android users there another way to purchase digital content from its online store.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Google

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Mobile

Google just announced 8 big Android updates. Here’s what’s new

A photo of many Android figurines on a white wall.

At Moblie World Congress (MWC ) 2024, Google is bringing a healthy bunch of new features to Android. In line with the AI push all across the industry, some notable AI-driven enhancements are on the table. There are also a handful of core Android features that sound practically amazing.
The first in line is Gemini. The generative AI chatbot recently got a standalone app for Android, and now it’s headed for the Google Messages app. Users can chat with Gemini directly in the messaging app and use its generative capabilities for a host of things, like drafting replies, refining a message, and more.

Another feature that was showcased a while ago is finally ready for prime time. Android Auto is gaining support for message summarization for standalone texts and group chats, and it can also suggest replies. With a single tap, users will also be able to drop a message, start a call, and share an estimated arrival time. The idea is to deploy AI for crucial tasks so that it can minimize distractions while driving.
Lookout, an accessibility-centric feature for users with vision challenges, is also getting meaningful AI love. On Android phones, Lookout will now read AI-generated captions and descriptions for media content. For now, the AI boost to Lookout and Messages is limited to the English language.

Mobile

The Google Pixel Fold 2 just leaked. Here’s everything that’s new

Schematics of Google Pixel 2 according to leaks.

Google’s next foldable phone is going to be a screamer, and not solely for good reasons, if the latest leaks are to be believed. SmartPrix (via OnLeaks) has shared alleged renders depicting the Google Pixel Fold 2, and it looks like a mixed bag of regressive design and positive developments.
The biggest change compared to the first-gen Google Pixel Fold is a camera bump that ditches the stretched bar look on the current-gen Pixel smartphones. Instead, we now have a rectangular design with two rows of pill-shaped black outlines, hosting three camera lenses and a bunch of other sensors.
It’s a stark departure from the mainstream Pixel camera bar, and it revives a look that was last seen on the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4 series phones. Looks aside, the side placement also means the phone will keep wobbling if you place it on a flat surface. I’m not exactly a fan of this approach, to be honest.

Another notable change is the side profile. The curved edges of the Pixel Fold have been flattened, a look that will also appear on the Google Pixel 9 series phones, according to leaked renders.
But if you look closely and ignore the ugly camera hump shape, the Pixel Fold 2 looks identical to the OnePlus Open in its leathery black trim. The side rails, those curved bezels, and the front camera placement are all identical.
Even the ridge seems to have been lifted straight from the OnePlus Open, down to its polished metal aesthetics. It’s not a bad thing, as the OnePlus Open is one of the best-built phones I’ve ever used, and the form factor is an absolute joy to handle.
The most progressive change happens once the phone is opened. The thick bezels are gone, and what we see on the Pixel Fold 2 renders are uniformly thin bezels on all sides, a trend that we first noticed on the foldable phones offered by Oppo.

Mobile

How to install the Google Play Store on an Amazon Fire tablet

The back of the Amazon Fire Max 11 tablet.

The Amazon Fire lineup is filled with affordable Android tablets. Offering plenty of functionality without the price tag associated with products from Samsung or Lenovo, Amazon's home-grown family of tablets is an easy recommendation for frugal shoppers. There's a bit of caveat to the lineup, however, as none of them come preinstalled with the Google Play Store.