Today Google launched the evolution of their Music service, packed with features to make it a serious competitor to iTunes and Amazon MP3. The big news of the day is the addition of a music store, which is already available in the Android Market on the web. Availability of music purchases on Android devices is promised very soon.

With the availability of 13 million tracks, Google Music is hitting hard against the big music stores, and they already have the userbase ready to use it. Once you purchase a song or album, it’s a one-click operation to share with your friends on Google+, where they can listen to the full thing, not just 30 seconds. Then your music is available instantly on the web player or on your Android phone. Not only will there be free music available every day, there’s also a few artists that have teamed up with Google to offer exclusive tracks and albums to Google Music users.

One of the other big features Google just added to Music is the Artist Hub. Anyone from a DIY artist to a small independent label can upload their music and sell it in the store for a one-time fee of $25. The revenue sharing model is similar to the Android Market, and you’re free to upload as much or as often as you want.

[via Google Blog]

32GB not enough storage for your tablet? So far the largest storage option available for an Android tablet is the Archos G9 tablets with a 250GB hard drive. But how about a 500GB hard drive? One talented DIY modder, goodintentions over at XDA Developers, managed to stuff a 500GB hard drive in the dock of his Asus Transformer tablet, while keeping the batteries and most other parts in there.

That’s right, all batteries, all parts are still there! The only difference is I’ve rearranged all the inner crap around to make the 500 gb fit. Asus, if you’re reading this, take notes

Anyway, here are the pictures. Remember that all I’ve removed are some plastic pieces that serve no other purpose than to keep things in place. All electronic parts are still there. It’s like trying to work out a piece of puzzle. Well, I’ve finally found a combination that works!

Well, here are some pictures. Now, I have a laptop-tablet hybrid with a 500 gb hard drive and 16 hours of battery life!

As you can see, this kind of modification is not for the faint of heart. And he doesn’t recommend others try to do the same, because you’re likely to end up with a pile of electronic junk. In addition to adding a hard drive, he also installed a tiny switch in the casing to turn off power to the hard drive when it’s not in use.

We’ve seen it can be done. Now we’re hoping manufacturers are taking notes and put this into production some time soon. Hard drive space is much cheaper than flash memory, and stuffing a hard drive into a keyboard dock is an easy way to increase storage space without making the tablet a thick/heavy beast.

For more pictures and details, check out the original thread at XDA Developers.

Today’s 10 inch Android tablets not big enough for you? How about a nice big 23 inch model? That’s what DIY hacker Martin Drashkov thought when he decided to build this monster.  The best part is he made it with off-the-shelf parts for around $600, which isn’t too much more than today’s 10 inch tablets. In the video below, he shows off the Android MegaPad as he calls it. It’s certainly not exactly portable, but would make a nice addition to your living room entertainment center. While it appears to be another Android device just hooked up to a 23 inch touchscreen monitor, I think there’s a little more to it, such as feeding touch inputs back to the device. Let’s hope he releases some full instructions, because I’m sure there’s more than a few people that would love to build this.

[Martin Drashkov via Android Community]

I just, I don’t even have words for this.

It’s a Wii racing controller, with a universal phone holder attached to it holding your phone, then a Wii controller, connected by Bluetooth to your phone, which is running a Nintendo emulator. Just watch the video. The DIY kit is available here for only 10 bucks.

[via Engadget]

Check out their full review and some more photos.

If you’re not familiar with Ben Heck, he’s probably mostly known for his gaming console modifications. But he’s an all around tinkerer and DIY kinda guy. Noticing a problem many of us have probably experienced, he created a solution. Using parts from a wind up flashlight and a micro USB charger and other bits, he threw together a wind-up charger for his Android phone. The latest episode of The Ben Heck Show has the full details on the project. And you can even register to win the gizmo.

I’ve seen various solar chargers and emergency battery packs, but the wind up concept is new to me for a phone charger. I wonder if any company will pick this up and put it into production. I’d buy one.

Not sure why this needed a press release, but here it is:

CHICAGO, Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ – element14, a collaborative social community and electronics store for design engineers and electronics enthusiasts, and modding guru Benjamin J. Heckendorn, a.k.a. Ben Heck, present an action-packed episode of “The Ben Heck Show” for the modding- and DIY-inclined, featuring a kinetic motion-inspired wind-up charger for Android phones and a Rapid Pinball Prototyping System (RPPS) for Ben’s latest pinball creation.

“Have you ever noticed that there never seems to be a charger around when you need one – I sure have,” said Ben Heck. “In this latest episode, I look at kinetic motion to create a portable cell phone battery charger in the event you’re ever lost on a deserted island and need to call for help to get rescued.”

Ben uses two simple, affordable items– a wind-up LED flashlight and micro USB adapter – and morphs them into a portable, wind-up battery charger for Android phones. Later it’s back to pinball wars as Ben constructs a custom RPPS gaming cabinet with fellow modding friends that allows users to rapidly fire new shots. Ben rounds out the episode with a complete overhaul of an old, non-working LCD screen and turns it into a perfectly functioning monitor.

“Ben’s latest project is a great example of how a little mod-like thinking, some DIY energy, and affordable electronics components can create useful, everyday gadgets,” said Alisha Mowbray, senior vice president of marketing, element14.  ”The wind-up charger gives Android users an easy and affordable way to ensure they always have a ready-to-use cell phone, whether they’re on the road without a car charger, on a long camping weekend, or stuck at the airport.”

Show fans can enter for a chance to win the kinetic wind-up charger featured on the episode as well as submit project suggestions for future episodes.

About “The Ben Heck Show”

“The Ben Heck Show” is a bi-weekly online television series dedicated to the science, art and mindset of system and hardware modders with a global audience of design engineers, students and electronic enthusiasts (e.g., tech geeks). Each episode spotlights Ben’s mods of popular electronic devices while educating viewers on the underlying technology powering each of Ben’s featured projects, and offering his unique insight regarding hardware modification techniques, tools and design tips.  Sponsored exclusively by element14 and produced by leading Internet TV network Revision3, the show continues to gain support from loyal fans with over 1,000,000 views since its debut in September.

About element14

element14 is the first collaborative community, research portal and store for design engineers and electronics enthusiasts. The website provides product data, design tools, technology information and top brand components to seamlessly facilitate the design process; users can consult industry experts and collaborate with peers around the globe. element14 is sponsored by Premier Farnell plc (LSE: pfl), a leader in multi-channel distribution and specialty services for electronic design engineers, trading throughout the Americas (Newark), Europe (Farnell) and Asia-Pacific (element14). The company has group sales of795.3m pounds Sterling and over 4,100 employees globally.

Not just for show, this neat PC case mod, turns our beloved mascot into a fully functional computer featuring:

JetWay Mini ITX motherboard with a Via C7 CPU, 1GB RAM, Ubuntu 7.10, and a 10,000 RPM 74 GB Raptor.

Hit the link for more pictures and a complete walk through of how it was made.

[Photo Album via StuffThatHappens]

Inevitably when a new piece of hardware comes out, there’s always a few things people don’t like about it. And sometimes a brave few do something about it. In this case the problem was the slick plastic battery cover on the Nexus S and how it collects fingerprints. And the solution for xda-developers member mhaedo was give it a couple thin coats of spray-on PlastiDip. He used black, but if you’re feeling frisky, you could try their red or yellow colors. And of course this isn’t limited to the Nexus S, this could be done on almost any other phone. It should also be noted that you can peel off the PlastiDip if you get bored of it or wish to sell the phone.

Hit the link for more pictures and full instructions on how he did it.

[xda-developers via AndroidCommunity]

Sure, a lot of Android phones come with stereo headphones with buttons to control the music, but what if you’re feeding the output of your phone into your car? Apparently there’s a shortage of AUX cables that have similar controls, so one ambitious DIYer, Rich Kappmeier, took it upon himself to build a custom cable to control the music coming from his Nexus One. Hit the link for a full in-depth article on how it works, and how to do it yourself.

My only question is, why not use the on screen controls? Although I can see a few other applications where this type of control can be useful.

[WiseBread]

Thought this was pretty cool, so I’d share. A simply but effective DIY phone dock for your G1, or any phone for that matter. It only caught my eye because they used a G1 in the picture. If you don’t feel like spending the 10 bucks on one of those fancy dock stations for you G1, or you’re just into cool little DIY projects.

What do you use to hold your Android phone when it’s not in your hand?

[Instructables] [via Lifehacker]