Google made an aggressive push into the entertainment business on Tuesday, unveiling a new online music locker and a movie-rental service. Google's Music Beta lets users upload 20,000 songs in an online account and stream them to a computer or mobile device. The mobile Android Market will start renting thousands of recent Hollywood movies for $1.99, for wireless viewing on Android smartphones and tablets. How do these "promising" new services stack up to rival offerings from Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and other competitors?
Good... but not good enough: Rolling out music and movie streaming is a big step forward for Google, especially in its fight with Apple for dominance in the phone and tablet realm, says the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. But it "won't likely close the considerable lead that Apple" has. The slick new movie-rental streaming will give Apple and Netflix real competition, but Music Beta suffers from lack of a music store and the tedious need for users to upload gigabytes of songs.
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