It looks like Motorola may have inadvertently let the cat out of the bag regarding Google’s rumored web-based music service.
According to the Guardian, when speaking about Motorola’s upcoming Xoom tablet, the company’s mobility CEO, Sanjay Jha, said:
“If you look at Google Mobile services today, there’s a video service, there’s a music service—that is, there will be a music service.”
Jha then apparently remarked that one of the benefits of upgrading to tablets running Google’s new Android software (Honeycomb) is that “it adds video services and music services.”
Google, of course, already has video services since it owns YouTube, but the company has yet to establish its own digital music store.
Rumors of a so-called Google Music service have been swirling around for months, with the basic idea being that your music would be stored “in the cloud” on Google’s servers and available to stream or download to any compatible, connected device. There’s been some speculation that a Google-powered music store would exist entirely online as well, as opposed to Apple’s iTunes software which functions as a standalone program.
Tablets running Google’s new Android software are expected to launch in the very near future—Motorola’s has been tipped for next week—so we’ll see if Jha’s statements were merely a mistaken slip of the tongue or revealed something much more concrete.
More on TIME.com:
Google’s Rumored Music Store and Why It Just Might Work
Google Music Rumors: Labels Happy About iTunes Alternative?
Competition for iTunes? Google Music, Spotify Making Launch Strides