Google announced Google Play today. This is Google’s new app/music/video/book store, which is replacing Android Market, Google Music and the Google eBookstore.
Google kicked off a big sale to celebrate the launch, called 7 Days to Play, in which Googl eis offering a different album, book, video rental and Android app at a special price each day for the next week. Google Director of Digital Content Jamie Rosenberg writes on the Google Blog:
In the U.S., today’s titles include the collection of top 40 hits Now That’s What I Call Music 41, the popular game Where’s My Water, the novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and the movie Puncture for just 25 cents each. In addition, you’ll find great collections of hip-hop, rock and country albums for $3.99 all week, detective novels from $2.99, some of our editorial team’s favorite movies from 99 cents, and our favorite apps from 49 cents.
Google’s already sending around an email campaign for the sale:
Don’t expect to start using Android apps on your iPhone or iPad, but users of such devices can still take advantage of Google Play to some extent. Google had the following to say in its help center:
Google Play is available on any computer with a modern browser at play.google.com. On the web, you can browse and buy books, movies and music. You can read books on the Google Play web reader, listen to music on your computer or watch movies online. Your digital content is all stored in the cloud, so you can access from anywhere using your Google Account.
We’ve also created ways to experience your music and books on other platforms such as the Google Books iOS app.
There is also a Google Music app for iOS, so I assume that will update to Google Play as well. Google Music on the web has already updated.
You can go to play.google.com on your iOS device, and you can try to download an Android app, but it will just tel you it doesn’t have an Android device associated with the account. That is assuming you don’t have a separate Android device associated.
If you have an Android device, you may be wondering how to update it. To answer your question, it will update automatically.
“If your device can be updated, the Android Market app will automatically update to the Google Play Store app,” Google says in a help center article. “Once you have it, the Google Play Store app automatically updates itself when new versions become available. This is a silent update, which means you will not see a notification and will not be prompted to update.”
The update will be rolling out over the coming days. Videos, books and music apps (in countries where they are available) will be upgraded to Google Play Movies, Google Play Books and Google Play Music apps.
“The music, movies, books and apps you’ve purchased will continue to be available to you through Google Play,” Google’s Director of Digital Content, Jamie Rosenberg, assures users. “Simply log in with your Google account like always.
On your device, the Android Market app icon will change to the Google Play Store icon. I’ve already heard some early criticism of the logo, but I imagine everyone will get used to.
For the movies, books and music apps, Google says you’ll begin to see Play versions of these, such as “Play Music,” and “Play Movies.”
Google is combining the Android Market, Google Music and the Google eBookstore into one product called Google Play, which appears to be Google’s answer to the iTunes store.
The company says it will be upgrading the Android Market app on Android devices to the Google Play Store app over the coming days.
“Your videos, books and music apps (in countries where they are available) will also be upgraded to Google Play Movies, Google Play Books and Google Play Music apps,” explains Google Director of Digital Content Jamie Rosenberg. “The music, movies, books and apps you’ve purchased will continue to be available to you through Google Play—simply log in with your Google account like always.”
“In the U.S., music, movies, books and Android apps are available in Google Play,” says Rosenberg. “In Canada and the U.K., we’ll offer movies, books and Android apps; in Australia, books and apps; and in Japan, movies and apps. Everywhere else, Google Play will be the new home for Android apps. Our long-term goal is to roll out as many different types of content as possible to people around the world, and we’ll keep adding new content to keep it fresh.”
One major element of all of this is that this will heavily brand Android devices with the Google name, which hasn’t always been the case. If Android Market is Google Play, then users will know for certain that they’re dealing with Google. This kind of goes hand in hand with Google’s continued consolidation of its numerous products into a more unified brand. This has been reflected with the increased Google+ integration into Google products, and the new privacy policy that went into effect the other day.
“We believe that with a strong brand, compelling offerings, and a seamless purchasing and consumption experience, Google Play will drive more traffic and revenue to the entire ecosystem,” says Google’s Kenneth Lui on the Android Developers blog. “We’ll be investing in the brand to bring Google Play to as many people as possible, and we’ll also invest in the latest digital content to keep Google Play fresh, relevant, and engaging. Apps and games remain the core of Google Play, so we’ll continue investing in new ways to connect users with their favorite apps, and developers with new customers.”
“Google Play is built on the same infrastructure as Android Market, so the transition for users and developers will be seamless,” he adds. “Users can sign into their existing accounts with the same credentials as before and purchase content using the same payment methods. As a developer, there’s no change needed to your published products and you can continue to use the same publishing tools to put your app in front of hundreds of millions of Android users. If your app was in Android Market yesterday, it’s in Google Play today.”
Google Play stores up to 20,000 songs for free (which was already the case with Google Music).
Google is offering a different album, book, video rental and Anroid app at a discount each day for the next week to promote Google Play in what Google is calling the “7 Days to Play” sale.
Google’s ebookstore – named Google eBookstore, as it turns out – has gone live. Google launched the site with a certain amount of fanfare this morning, discussing the numerous ways in which it offers advantages over existing ebook-buying options.
To start with, Google claims to have the world’s largest ebooks collection, with over three million titles on tap. What’s more, a post on the Inside Google Books blog noted, "We designed Google eBooks to be open. Many devices are compatible with Google eBooks – everything from laptops to netbooks to tablets to smartphones to e-readers."
Then one other trick relates to the portability of ebooks after they’ve been purchased. The post explained, "With the new Google eBooks Web Reader, you can buy, store and read Google eBooks in the cloud. That means you can access your ebooks like you would messages in Gmail or photos in Picasa – using a free, password-protected Google account with unlimited ebooks storage."
Everything from font, font size, and line spacing should even often remain the same when switching between devices, and Google will save readers’ places.
This is an interesting arrangement, sure to impress more than a few people. Google’s already got some corporate allies, too, with Alibris, Powell’s, and other members of the American Booksellers Association signing on as partners.
Amazon may have reason to get nervous as a result, although Google hasn’t yet disclosed what sort of revenue split on ebook sales is taking place.
