Due to some kind of foul-up at Google Inc. a lucky man by the name of Tim Schiesser, who just so happens to be a tech writer, has been given access to a previously unheard-of Android Test Market, where it would seem app developers can trial their wares before releasing them to the general public.
Schiesser said the new market appeared when he went to do some routine app updating on his Galaxy S Vibrant – most likely remote-installed there by Google accidentally. Try as he might, he couldn’t get rid of the Test Market, so decided to go digging around instead.
Inside he found Google’s Music 3.0 app (the current public version is 2.3.3) – essentially the current Android Music app, but with cloud functionality built it, allowing users to log into their Google account and presumably access a music locker service similar to the one just launched by Amazon.com Inc. The app had also been updated with extra overlay prompts and new visual niceties. This is just the latest round of Google Music rumours, which has been on the lips of excited Android users ever since Google gave us a glimpse of it at their I/O conference last year.
Unfortunately the cloud functionality wasn’t yet enabled (at least not for Schiesser’s account), so he couldn’t test drive the service, although it seemed to feature all the cloud storage and streaming functionality you would expect.
Also in the Test Market were a new Android camera app, and something called Google Desk Clock, unfortunately both non-working.
With Amazon.com’s surprise release of their Cloud Player service Google are most likely scrambling to get their competitor in place before Apple Inc. can dive in – this latest leak only adds fuel to that fire.
