Here’s something we didn’t expect: from now on we can kiss goodbye to the Android Market we’ve come to love on our smartphones and tablets, and say hello to the new Google Play.
Google has just announced that it will be rebranding the Android Market that plays host to hundreds of thousands of apps, songs, eBooks and videos, as ‘Google Play’. The Market itself will be now called Play Shop.
It’s nothing to panic about, as the content will remain exactly the same, and your Android smartphone or tablet will notify you of an update over the next few days. Simply follow the onscreen instructions to install the update, and a new icon for Play Shop should replace the Market Icon in your menu.
Google Music and Google Books will also vanish, combining forces with the Market to become Google Play. In fact, the PC-based market.android.com website is now redirecting to play.google.com/store, which features a new style and slightly updated layout. This layout is also used on all Android devices when the update rolls out.
Google Play also stores your content in the cloud, which means you can start watching a movie on your phone, pause it and pick up where you left off on an Android tablet or even on your PC. The same goes for reading an eBook, which is pretty awesome if you ask us.
We’re told the change to the name ‘Google Play’ and consolidating several of Android’s digital stores into one is part of an even bigger plan Google has. What’s interesting is that several tech publications have recently written about rumours of a flagship Nexus tablet that may be produced by Google and ASUS in unison, which will be dubbed the Google Play.
The update is starting right now on newer devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and ASUS Transformer Prime, and it will start to roll out to older smartphones and tablets over the next week. In the meantime, check out the official release video for Google Play below to get a better understanding.
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