I have long been critical of Google’s fragmented approach to offering content with apps being offered separately from music and books however this seems to be addressed in a new platform going live today.<\/p>\n
Google Play now replaces the Android Market and is a step up from the its predecessor in that all of the content you purchase will be stored online and available to you whenever you need it. Furthermore, Google Play can also automatically sync purchases to other devices a user might own which is similar to how iCloud works for iOS-based devices.<\/p>\n
That said, content availability may still be restricted for your particular region so if you don’t see music, movies or books then this is perhaps due to Google failing to strike a deal with content publishers in your neck of the woods. In other words, your mileage may vary but at the very least you’re not losing any functionality already offered by the Android Market.<\/p>\n
I guess the big question here might be why did they have to change the name? Perhaps Google is thinking more broadly than its own Android platform or maybe the legacy name was just too restrictive in terms of the content it wanted to offer.<\/p>\n