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Internet giant Google announced that the Android Market would be renamed as the service is brought under the umbrella of a new Google Play brand.
Google described Google Play as a "digital entertainment destination" which will incorporate the Android Market, Google eBookstore and the cloud-based Google Music service.
Despite the brand consolidation, not all of Google Play will be available in each territory – most notably Google Play Music will remain a US exclusive. Other than the rebrand under the bland generic name and a new coloured triangle logo, little will change.
We speculate that one of the reasons Google has done this is to bundle also-ran services such as Google Music with the star performers such as the Android Marketplace. By lumping it all under one banner, Google might be in a better position to convince record labels to climb on board to launch Google Play Music worldwide.
That said, right now Play to most consumers will mean music. The one thing Google Play doesn’t offer to Google’s worldwide audience.
Google’s marketing video suggests that the rebrand also aims to compete better with Apple, focusing on cloud-based storage.
"No cables, no syncing, no storage costs. Just pure entertainment," concludes the Google Play video advert.
