Google Play replaces Google Music and the Android Market into one unified experience as a music store, a Google music player, as well as a place for books, movies and Android apps for Android phones and Android tablets. Google Play also integrates the Google+ social network and YouTube music videos; plus Google Play works oniOS devices like iPhone and iPad as well as a music player.
Remember the talk of Google Music failing? Or the Google Drive? Google entertainment device? These were the precursors to the the New Google Play, which replaces Google Music, Google Books and Android Market in fell swoop. Google Play is Google's brand new online store, cloud storage drive and central hub for your digital goods. It's tightly integrated with the Google+ social network of course, as well as Gmail and YouTube.
Smartly, Google Play comes across as a smarter approach than the disconnected user experience of Google Music, Google Books and the Android Market. The beauty of iTunes is that it's one place that did all of those, now Google Play provides a Google music player, music store, book store and app store in one experience. They're also selling certain albums for a quarter right now for a limited time.
"Google is hoping that incorporating all their digital content under one solid roof to amplify sales might lure Warner Music Group to offer up their catalog. Notable holdout Warner is currently the only major record label not interested in doing business with Google," said Rolling Stone.
Google Play is obviously optimized for Android tablets and Android phones, but you can still use the Google player on iOS devices like the iPad and iPhone. It includes and "Instant Mix" feature that lets you create the Google Play version of Apple's Genius Playlist. It also lets you share YouTube Music videos via the Google+ social network on any song that you're playing. Which seems to lay at the heart of the Google Play strategy as well as user experience: a tighter, smarter and easier to use integration of Google products and services. You can bet Google TV will work its way into this experience, for the Google TV vs Apple TV competition that's unfolding this year. Throw in Amazon Kindle Fire and Amazon video on demand and we've got a cage match. They're also adding audiobooks.
"Now your favorite movies, apps, and games are all in one place that's accessible from the Web and any Android device. Discover, buy and share like never before," reads the introduction from Google Play. "Buy a book on your Android phone and read it on the web at play.google.com. Buy a new album on your Android tablet and listen to it on your desktop at work. Rent a movie online and watch it anywhere on your phone. That's the beauty of the cloud. You can read, listen and watch all your favorite content anywhere you want."
"The company recently converged its various content services into a unified storefront with consistent Google Play branding. As part of this transition, the Android Market is being renamed the Google Play Store," reads Ars Technica.
Google Play has gone live via your web browser already, and will populate Android phones and Android tablets over the next few days with the Google Play icon replacing the Android Market icon.
"This is a crucial step Google had to take to keep competitive. Google is trying to simplify delivering to consumers something they will pay for or load onto their device. Anything Google can do to streamline that is important. Google has got more Android devices in the world, but I don't think it's paying out as much to people who create apps or content," said Gartner media analyst Michael McGuire when speaking to the LA Times.
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