Google to Launch 'Google Audio' Music Service and Phone, Reports Claim

From PC World: Will Google gunning to become the next Apple? Google is reportedly set to unveil its own music service and is also working with a smartphone manufacturer on an own-brand Android phone.

Two separate reports from TechCrunch and The Street say that the search giant is developing a music service, dubbed as Google Audio, and a smartphone that will not be sold through traditional wireless carriers.

Michael Arrington of TechCrunch quotes multiple sources, saying that Google has "spent the last several weeks securing content for the launch of the [music] service from the major music labels."

Google Audio would be available for U.S. users, but it is unclear whether it will be a download or streaming service. Arrington notes that Google Audio would be "very different to the Google China music download service that they launched in 2008."

In a separate report, Scott Moritz of The Street, quotes analyst Ashok Kumar, saying that Google is also working to develop its own Google-branded smartphone, which will be sold through retailers and not through wireless carriers by the end of this year.

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