First up GMAA has a couple of options.
The free version gives you a digital locker to store up to 20,000 songs which you can then access on any device linked to your Google Play account. Of course you still need the specific app but you can't expect too much freedom on music services right? You don't have to stick to streaming as you can set up tracks and playlists to download to your device for offline listening. Amazon has offered something similar for a while but I am pretty sure their free option tops out at about 500 songs.
The premium version still has the music locker, but adds the ability to access any music available in the Google Play catalogue. Of course it boasts millions of songs but the usefulness of it depends on how much you can find that matches your personal tastes. Again, all tracks are able to be flagged for offline play meaning that you can build a substantial portable music collection for your out and about listening pleasure. The web version also allows the creation of customisable radio stations based on artists, songs, albums etc ala Pandora. As this is a paid service there are no ads.
Google is currently offering a one month free trial and a discounted subscription costs of $9.99 a month if you choose to continue. If you don't subscribe straight up it will cost you $11.99 a month to rejoin at a later date.
I've signed up for the trial so what are the first impressions?
Well so far I have only played around with the web interface and set up a couple of radio stations. The interface is nice and clean and searching brings up results as you type quite responsively. I got a friend of mine with some rather specific tastes to suggests artists to me and all three suggestions yielded results. This is a record for her suggestions and as all three were also local artists it was pretty impressive to see them up there. I couldn't bring myself to play any of the songs, but it was nice they were there. The radio feature also has a nice addition that I would love Pandora or Spotify Radio to add. You type in what you want to base the station on and it brings up a full playlist of the first 20 or so tracks. I salute you Google, this feature alone adds so much flexibility to the radio option.
The music locker has been available for a while and I previously circumvented the geo-blocking to try it out. This provides a nifty way to fill in any gaps in the selection of music available on Google Play. If I find that one of my favourite bands is missing, or perhaps an early album that never got officially released digitally, then I like that I can add it to my personal library.
Stay tuned for the mobile app review as well as updates as I work my way through the trial period. I'm diving head first and will be removing all music from my phone to see if I can survive with GMAA as my only source of tunes.
Wish me luck!
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