No More Android Market: Google Play is a “Digital Entertainment Destination”

Google today announced a unified entertainment market, accessible from any device, called Google Play. Google Play, described as a “digital entertainment destination“, will host the content formerly found on the Android Market, Google Music and the Google eBookstore. In fact, the Android Market and Google Music will cease to exist as their own brands as soon as Google is able to fully roll out the updates.

Straight from the horses mouth:

Today we’re eliminating all that hassle with Google Play, a digital entertainment destination where you can find, enjoy and share your favorite music, movies, books and apps on the web and on your Android phone or tablet. Google Play is entirely cloud-based so all your music, movies, books and apps are stored online, always available to you, and you never have to worry about losing them or moving them again.

The point of this move seems to be in demonstrating that Google’s entertainment assets are not tied to any particular device and purchases can be accessed from anywhere.

Check it out for yourself: play.google.com/store

I just checked my Market updates, and Google Play Music was already available and has now replaced the original Google Music on my HTC Incredible (running 2.3.3). There appear to be no functional or UI updates to the app, aside from an icon and name change. The Android Market, which will be replaced by the Google Play Store, has yet to receive an update on my phone . Google has announced that it will be pushing OTA updates for all of these apps in the coming days.

As a side note, the bouncing balloon balls at the top of Official Google Blog are way too much fun.

Filed under: Product Engineering | Topics: android, Google, google play, mobile, mobile strategy