A possible leak of a test version of the Android Market may have inadvertently confirmed the suspected coming release of Google Music. Although Google has since removed the "Test Market" from the device, others have posted some of the allegdly leaked apps for download.
The initial leak appears to be random. According to the site Tech from 10, the Android Market on a Galaxy S Vibrant spontaneously acquired the Test Market, which appears to be a version reserved for developers. It's said to behave just like the normal market, though many of the apps are simply called "test," and there are no paid apps.
One of the apps available was a new version of Music, which PCMag downloaded and installed. The new Music app looks and feels just like the one in Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" on the Motorola Xoom, which makes artwork appear as a 3D wall.
Within the app are options for what appears to be a Google Music cloud player. (see image at right, click to enlarge) The settings menu is filled with new options like "Stream music via Wi-Fi," but they're all grayed out and can't be turned on. One of the options explicitly refers to "Music Beta." Google has been rumored to have a cloud service for music streaming in the works for some time; Amazon launched a similar cloud music player last week.
While Amazon's cloud service is live, record labels are reportedly not happy about it. Negotiations with the labels are said to be what's holding up Google and Apple from launching similar services. Both are expected to debut cloud music players in the next few months.
Among the other interesting features in the Test Market are new apps for Camera, Photo Gallery, Google Talk, and Google Books. In addition, the Test Market includes ratings for individual apps—both a user-generated five-star system as well as a "content rating" that says whether an app is rated as Everyone, Low Maturity, Medium Maturity, and High Maturity. Google had previously said that ratings were in development.
Google did not reply to request for comment.
PJ Jacobwitz contributed to this report.