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Google Releases Monotune Album, Ten Tracks Using Middle C

One of the recurring news articles that has popped up in 2015 is how Android is broken because it is fragmented, and how Google has been working hard to pull the different versions of Android back together. The term fragmentation here means that there are many, many different devices running different versions of Android, under many different manufacturer device skins and for the newer builds of Android Lollipop and Android Marshmallow, with different security patch dates. We also have many variants of hardware, too: there are different screen resolutions, sizes and underlying technologies, differences in processors including a choice of ARM or Intel x86 architecture, RAM, internal storage, cameras and network functionality. To one person, these differences in software and hardware means “fragmentation” but to another, it means “choice.” It’s a point for discussion: fragmentation is arguably one of Android’s greatest strengths as well as a weakness.

“Be Together, Not The Same” is one of Google’s taglines for Android. It’s designed to show off to the world that one of the many wonderful facets of Android is that our devices are different by design. Google has labored the point that Apple produce what looks and feels like the same device year after year, pronounce it to be the best ever, and yes whilst this is the case, it’s all a bit samey. Indeed, it’s the same note repeated again and again. Their recent “monotune” advert made the point: play a track using only the middle C piano note. Google has continued the jab at the samey Apple iPhone by translating one of its Tweets into the letter C and now it has released an album into the Google Play Store: monotone piano, sitting in the Classical genre.

The album consists of ten short tracks of classic tunes such as Three Blind Mice, America, The Beautiful, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Take Me Out to the Ball Game with a special bonus track of Hot Cross Buns. All played in the middle C on a piano. It’s probably not an album that will make it into your favorites although there is certainly plenty of ringtone potential here! It’s available free of charge on the Google Play Store but judging by some of the comments, it has been well received by a number of reviewers, although these remarks are themselves laboring the point that Google’s jab at Apple is amusing. For others, the joke already seems to be wearing thin.