Is the long-rumored Google music service imminent? It appears that way, according to statements made by Motorola Mobilitiy CEO Sanjay Jha.
Jha told reporters at Mobile World Congress that the tablet-optimized Android OS, Honeycomb, will include a Google music tie-in. Motorola’s Android tablet Xoom is expected to launch this spring and will be the first to ship with Android 3.0, dubbed Honeycomb.
“If you look at Google Mobile services [via Android] today, there’s a video service, there’s a music service – that is, there will be a music service,” said Sanjay Jha, head of Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI), according to The Guardian’s report on a Google music service tie-in with Honeycomb.
It’s no secret that Google has been exploring an alternative to Apple’s iTunes, as it bought the digital music sharing software firm Simplify Media a year ago and integrated some of the company’s tools in Android 2.2.
Also noteworthy: Google’s digital content payment plan, One Pass, announced yesterday, reportedly only covers online newspapers and magazines, but not music, which could mean that Google has other plans for processing online purchases of digital music.