Android Market makes way as Google Play steps in

Google's digital market for mobile applications, music, movies and books is unifying under a brand new name to check out to spruce up the shopping experience.

The Android Market can be referred to as the Google Play Store. Google's eBookstore and music service may also be a part of the Google Play Store. An analogous collection of books, music and films had already been available on Android Market.

The rebranding can be ushered in with a sequence of tweaks designed to make it easier for purchasers to control their content and navigate from one part of the shop to a different. Not one of the changes will affect the digital content that existing customers have already purchased and stored on Google computers in password-protected accounts.

Google is attempting to ascertain a one-stop shop which may satisfy everyone's digital desires, whether or not they are on a mobile device or a desktop computer's web browser. The trouble is a part of the web search leader's broader ambition to diversify beyond web advertising, which still accounts for 96 per cent of its revenue.

With Google Play, the corporate hopes more folks who occasionally went to the old Android Market to purchase mobile apps will start noticing other kinds of content and examine buying an electronic book or album, too.

If that occurs, Google believes more digital content providers should want to peddle their wares in its store.

One hole that also must be filled exists within the music department. Since Google began selling songs four months ago, only three of the four major recording labels - Vivendi's Universal Music, EMI Group and Sony Music Entertainment - have agreed to give material within the Android Market.

Warner Music Group remains a notable holdout because the market switches to its Google Play identity.

To lure traffic to the brand new store, Google is offering daily specials that lower the costs on featured books, movies and albums to as little as US25c each in the course of the next week.

Because it opened in October 2008, the Android Market had steadily grown along side the usage of mobile devices running on Google's Android software. Greater than 300 million Android devices are in use worldwide. one other six million are activated each week.

The large audience is the most important reason the Android Market has amassed greater than 450,000 mobile apps. Google also stocks greater than four million books, including free titles, and greater than 13 million songs and flicks.

- AP