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9to5Toys Last Call: gMusic 2 FREE, Pebble Smartwatch $120, iPad Air cases $5, Logitech deals, Kindles 15% off, more

Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

gMusic 2 Google Music player for iOS goes FREE for the first time ever, down from $1.99

Pebble Smartwatch (red or black) as low as $120 shipped for .edu email holders, $150 otherwise

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CaseCrown Bold Standby Pro iPad Air case (multiple colors) $5 shipped

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Other great deals from today:

The best deals that are still alive:

Mac software bundles:

  • The SuperStacked Mac Bundle: Over $3,000 Worth Of Premium Developer & Designer Tools – $49 today, but price increases everyday it’s on sale.

New product announcements & reviews:

Google Play Music ‘All Access’ for iOS reportedly landing this month following internal beta

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Since first announcing its Google Play Music ‘All Access’ streaming service earlier this year on Android, Google has been delaying the release of an official Google Play Music app for iOS for unknown reasons. Android chief Sundar Pichai originally said the app would be out in “the next few weeks” in May, but four months later we’ve yet to get an iOS app or access to the $9.99 month streaming service on iOS. Today, Engadget reports that Google is continuing to test the app internally and will launch it later this month:

Sources aware of Google’s plans have let slip to Engadget that not only is the company currently testing a native Google Music iOS app internally, but that it’ll launch later this month. We’re told that while employees have been invited to test the app, Google still needs to fix a few bugs before it’s ready for release… The company had previously closed the door on iOS users because Flash was needed to enforce DRM restrictions set by music labels. Now, Google appears to have overcome that issue and is nearly ready to launch.

Until the official app from Google launches, popular third-party clients like the gMusic app have been updated to support the “All Access” streaming service.
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gMusic app unofficially brings Google’s new “All Access” subscription music service to iOS

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gMusic-All-Access-iOSWhen Google unveiled its brand new $9.99/month “All Access” Google Play music streaming service earlier this month at its I/O keynote, we quickly learned that the service would not be coming to iOS initially. Google didn’t get into why, but today developers of the popular gMusic iOS app has unofficially brought support for the service to iPhone and iPad.

The app previously acted as client for songs stored in your Google Music library, but with an update to version 6.0 today the All Access subscription service is now officially available to iOS users. The changelog on iTunes also lists the ability to “Create/play Radio Stations” and “Search, listen, and add music to your library from inside the app.”

As for why Google didn’t make it’s own All Access app for iOS, we’ve heard from sources close to the situation that Google wants to submit an app but is currently in a holding pattern with Apple regarding what they will accept.

gMusic: Google Music Player is available on the App Store now for $1.99. The updated app will require users to have a Google Play All Access subscription to access the new features. 
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Pandora Radio rolls out Facebook publishing, improved interface, enhanced track menu, more

Just as Apple appears to be readying its music streaming service and Google just announced its subscription music servicePandora Radio has released a sturdy update to its iPhone app.

Users can now publish Now Playing activity to Facebook as it updates, similar to Spotify or Rdio, allowing friends to interact with the music you enjoy. Sharing individual tracks and stations to Facebook, Twitter, and email is built right in now as well.

Pandora 4.3 also includes a handful of UI improvements that greatly improve the native feel of the app, including the ability to tap the album art to reveal track information, but the new features and improvements are only available for iPhone for now.

Pandora 4.3 is available on the App Store now:
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Does the new Google Music match iTunes?

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLPFI5YsIks&start=1770]

At an event in L.A. this afternoon, Google revealed their revamped music streaming service called Google Music. Music was previously in beta for the last three months, but today has launched to everyone (in the U.S.) and includes a set of new features. Music will continue using the Music Manager application, that was available in the beta, to let users upload music to the web locker for streaming on Android devices and through the web. Users are able to upload up to 20,000 songs for free and can have them available offline on their Android devices.

The big news regarding Music is its huge integration into the Android Market and new Music Store. Millions of songs are now available for purchase from both Android and the Music webpage. Songs range from 99-cents to a $1.29, and every song has a 90 second preview and will be downloaded as a 320k MP3 — available on Android devices and in the web locker. Music can also be shared with friends over Google Plus, and friends will receive a full free play of the song (or album) once you share it.

Google said today an iOS app will also be on its way. While users can play music from their locker with the mobile web app (check out our hands on) on iOS devices right now, a native app will definitely be a bonus.

When it comes to what songs are available, Google has locked in Sony, EMI, and Universal for music licensing (What? No Warner?), and also has close to 1,000 smaller labels. 13 million tracks will be available over time, but 8 million are available today. Users can upload any song to the locker, however, regardless of label.

Another new feature announced in Music today is Artist Hub, a place that allows artists to share music to fans. Artists can build their own unique artist page to upload content and sell their songs for $25 a year.

So how will Google Music compete with iTunes?


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Google's internal politics complicate its music plans

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Google is about to change the music economy, preparing to hand over huge amounts of cash to win rights to offer the music locker service it has been trying to build for Google Music.  However, confused internal politics and music licensing complexity mean Google, just like Spotify and Apple, isn’t set to launch its service before the end of the year.
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