Greg Sandoval reporting for CNET:

While the service is still in beta, users will be able to join by invitation only. Initially, Google is prioritizing attendees of the I/O conference and owners of Motorola’s Xoom tablets, which is the first device to use Android 3.0. After that, the company will then turn to ordinary users who request an invitation, which they can do at Music.Google.com. To access the service, users will require a browser that supports flash–that means no Apple devices–or on any Android device that’s version 2.2 or higher, Levine said.

So, Google is expecting Android users — who are likely already experiencing poor battery life — to stream music to their device with a flash player? Forgive me if I’m overlooking the benefits to this service.

And yes, I understand that Android users will be able to access their libraries while offline as well. Which implies that this service will be as much a music syncing service as it is a music streaming service. But, a browser-based flash player isn’t my idea of The Future of Music.

And if this is going to be a music syncing service for Android, then hype it that way.