Rumours are intensifying over the possibility that search engine giant Google is in the advanced stages of testing a music service that it may intend to use to rival Apple’s iTunes service. Reports are claiming that the company is believed to be internally testing the service, imaginitively dubbed Google Music, just weeks after a developer claims to have stumbled upon the program when he fired up the new Honeycomb version of Google’s Android OS on his smartphone.
The rumours come amid further murmurings that the company is looking to launch a full scale social media assault in an attempt to top Facebook and Twitter. Many people believe the company are secretly developing a social media hub that will include music and gaming services. However it is believed that Google Music will not be that platform.
Brad Shimmin, an analyst with Current Analysis, commented “I don’t see this serving as Google’s primary, stand-alone social networking service with which it will compete with Facebook et al.
“That won’t preclude Google from releasing a broader, general social networking platform. If anything, this music service will incorporate social networking facilities, perhaps tying into … any potential Google offerings, such as the rumors surrounding a Google Me service.”
