Google Play is a digital-distribution multimedia-content service from Google which includes an online store for music, movies, books, and Android applications and games, as well as a cloud media player. The service is accessible from the web, Play Store mobile App on Android and Google TV.[1] Purchased content is available across all of these platforms/devices.[2] Google Play was introduced in March 2012 when Google rebranded it's whole digital distribution strategy and merged Android Market and Google Music services to Google Play.[3]
[edit] Products
On Google Play free applications are available worldwide except Iran,[4] while paid applications are available in 129 countries.[5] Applications can be installed from the device or the Google Play website.[6][7]
Google Play can update the applications the user selects automatically,
or users can update then on a per-case basis or update all applications
at once.[7] According to Google there were over 450,000 titles available as of March 2012.
Google Play filters the list of applications to those compatible with
the user's device. In addition, users may face further restrictions to
choice of applications where developers have tied-in their applications
to particular carriers or countries for business reasons.[8] Carriers can also ban certain applications, for example tethering[9] applications.
Some carriers offer direct carrier billing for Android Market application purchases.[10] Purchases of unwanted applications can be refunded within 15 minutes of the time of download.[11]
There is no requirement that Android applications be acquired from
Android Market. Users may download Android applications from a
developer's website or through a third-party alternative to Android
Market.[12]
At 8 June 2012, developers in 31 countries were able to distribute paid applications on Google Play.[13][14]
Application developers receive 70 percent of the application price,
with the remaining 30 percent distributed among carriers and payment
processors. Google itself does not take a percentage.[15] Revenue earned from the Android Market is paid to developers via Google Checkout merchant accounts, or via Google AdSense[16]
However, developers pay $25 for registration to distribute on the Android Market. accounts in some countries.
However, developers pay $25 for registration to distribute on the Android Market. accounts in some countries.
On 17 March 2009, about 2,300 applications were available in Android Market, according to T-Mobilechief technical officer Cole Brodman.[17] On 10 May 2011, during the Google I/O, Google announced that Android Market had 200,000 applications listed and 4.5 billion applications installed.[18]
| Year | Month | Applications available | Downloads to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | March | 2,300[17] | |
| December | 16,000[19] | ||
| 2010 | March | 30,000[20] | |
| April | 38,000[21] | ||
| August | 80,000[22][23] | 1 billion | |
| October | 100,000[24] | ||
| 2011 | May | 200,000[18] | 3 billion[25] |
| July | 250,000[26] | 6 billion | |
| October | 319,000[27] | ||
| December | 380,297[28] | 10 billion[29] | |
| 2012 | January | 400,000[30] | |
| February | 450,000[31] | ||
| May | 500,000[32][33] | 15 billion[33] | |
| June | 600,000[32][33] | 20 billion[34] |
[edit] Movies & TV
According to Google, there are thousands of movies and TV shows available on Google Play Movies & TV,[7] some in HD, including comedy, drama, animation, action and documentary.[7]
Movies can be rented or purchased and watched on the Google Play
website or via an application on an Android device. Television shows can
be purchased by episode or season.[7] Alternatively, users can download movies and TV shows for offline viewing and view them later using the Google Play Movie app.[35]
[edit] Music
On 16 November 2011, Google introduced Google Music with a music store, Google+ integration, artist hubs, and purchasing reflected on T-Mobile phone bills.[37] The three major label partnerships announced were with Universal Music Group, EMI, and Sony Music Entertainment,
along with other smaller labels. To celebrate the launch, several
artists released free songs and exclusive albums through the store. The Rolling Stones debuted the live recording Brussels Affair (Live 1973) and Pearl Jam made available a live concert recorded in Toronto on the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks as 9.11.2011 Toronto, Canada.[38]
A cloud media player was first hinted at at the Google 2010 I/O Conference, where Google Senior Vice-President of Social Vic Gundotra showed a "Music" section of the Android Market that would allow users to download music through the market.[39] The music streaming service that was announced by Google on 10 May 2011 at its I/O conference as Music Beta and released as Google Music before the rebrand to Google Play. The service supports streaming music to desktop browsers, Android phones and tablets, and any other device that can use the Adobe Flash platform.[40] At launch, the service was available through invitation to US residents only.[41] In November 2011, however, it is open to the public, but still only for US residents.[42]
According to Google there are "hundreds" of free songs in Google Play and "millions" available for purchase.[7] Users can also upload up to 20,000 of their songs to the service, for free.[7] Songs in Google Music are priced at US$1.29, $0.99, $0.69, and free.[37] Users also get personalized recommendation based on what they listen to the most.[7] Music can be played on the Google Play website, or any Android device.[7] Music can also be stored for offline playback.[7]
Google also noted "From time to time we'll be showcasing exclusive concerts and interviews available in Google Play."[43]
The service allows the user to automatically create a playlist of "songs that go well together"[44] using a feature known as Instant Mix.[44][45]
Music and playlists imported to Google Play music can not alter
playlists in other music program libraries, while changes in other
applications are reflected in the Google Play music library.[46][47]
[edit] Books
According to Google there are over three million ebooks on Google Play,[48] "nearly 3 million" are free and there are "hundreds of thousands" available for purchase.[48] Books can be read online at the Google Play website, or offline, via the Android application.[7]
Google Play's books are available in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Australia[36] and Spain.[49]
[edit] Devices
The store sells a Galaxy Nexus smartphone for $349 (unlocked, without contract).[50]
For now, Google is only selling the smartphone in the U.S., but the
company plans to sell it in other countries as well. At the Google IO Conference in June of 2012, Google announced the Nexus 7 tablet computer for $199 with 8 GB of flash storage and $249 with 16 GB of flash storage, as well as the Nexus Q
media streaming entertainment device for $299. These items, and
accessories for them, were also made available for purchase through the
devices section of the Google Play store.[51]
[edit] Play Store application
 Play Store icon |
|
| Original author(s) | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | |
| Stable release | 3.7.13 [52] / May 10, 2012 |
| Operating system | Android |
The Play Store Android application allows users to download movies, applications, music and books. According to Google, users with the old Android Market on an Android device will have the application automatically update itself.[53]
[edit] History
The Android Market on the Nexus S
The Google Play store on the Galaxy Nexus
 |
This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. (March 2012) |
Google announced the Android Market on 28 August 2008, and made it
available to users on 22 October 2008. They introduced support for paid
applications on 13 February 2009 for US and UK developers,[54][55] with additional support for 29 countries on 30 September 2010.
In December 2010, Google added content filtering to Android Market
and reduced the purchase refund window from 24–48 hours to 15 minutes.[56]
In February 2011, Google introduced a web client that provides access
to Android Market via PC. Applications requested through the Android
Market web page are downloaded and installed on a registered Android
device.[57]
In May 2011, Google added new application lists to Android Market,
including "Top Grossing" applications, "Top Developers", "Trending"
applications, and "Editors Recommendations". Google's Eric Chu said the
goal of this change was to expose users to as many applications as
possible.[58]
In July 2011, Google introduced a redesigned interface with a focus
on featured content, more search filters, and (in the US) book sales and
movie rentals.[59]
In September 2011, the Motorola Xoom tablet received an update that brought the redesigned Android Market to an Android 3.x Honeycomb based device.[60]
In November 2011, Google added a music store to the Android Market.[61]
In March 2012, the maximum allowed size of an application's APK file
was also increased from 50MB to allow two additional files for a maximum
of 50MB for the APK and two additional files of 2GB each, totalling
4146MB/4.05GB.[62]
On 6 March 2012, the Android Market was re-branded as Google Play.[63]
[edit] Device compatibility
The Google Play application is not open source.
Only Android devices that comply with Google's compatibility
requirements may install and access Google's closed-source Google Play
application, subject to entering into a free-of-charge[64] licensing agreement with Google.[65] In the past, these requirements had included 3G or 4G cellular data connectivity,[66] ruling out Android-powered devices comparable to Apple's iPod touch, but this requirement had been loosened by the 2011 release of the Samsung Galaxy Player.
Google Play applications are self-contained Android Package files.
Google Play does not install applications; it asks the device's
PackageManagerService to install them. The package manager becomes
visible if the user downloads an APK
file directly into their device. Applications are installed to the
phone's internal storage, and under certain conditions may be installed
to the device's external storage card.[67]
