Google Rebrands Cloud Strategy as "Google Play"

The Cloud just keeps evolving, but rest assured, it's here to stay. In fact the evolution of The Cloud is actually a good thing for us as users. It means that companies that are providing cloud services are changing things in hopes of making the concept easier to use in hopes of solidifying user bases and hoping to lure new users.

The latest evolution is from Google. The company, as recently as a few days ago, had the Android Market, the Google eBookstore, and Google Music. They all worked just fine, but it was a bit confusing for some users and a bit time consuming� even for power users who understood what as going on and where all the different things were located.

So, in order to make it easier to use and easier to find the things you might be looking for, Google has now consolidated all of those places into the one branded place of "Google Play".

I love the idea of simplicity and I also love the idea of all my stuff in one place. It's just a flat out better solution. This is especially true when one considers that there are a huge (and growing) number of users accessing Google Play on Android based smart phones and tablets.

From the Google Blog:

With Google Play you can:

• Store up to 20,000 songs for free and buy millions of new tracks
• Download more than 450,000 Android apps and games
• Browse the world�s largest selection of eBooks
• Rent thousands of your favorite movies, including new releases and HD titles

Starting today, Android Market, Google Music and the Google eBookstore will become part of Google Play. On your Android phone or tablet, we�ll be upgrading the Android Market app to the Google Play Store app over the coming days. Your videos, books and music apps (in countries where they are available) will also be upgraded to Google Play Movies, Google Play Books and Google Play Music apps. The music, movies, books and apps you�ve purchased will continue to be available to you through Google Play�simply log in with your Google account like always.

To celebrate, we�ll be offering a different album, book, video rental and Android app at a special price each day for the next week in our �7 Days to Play� sale. In the U.S., today�s titles include the collection of top 40 hits Now That's What I Call Music 41, the popular game Where's My Water, the novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and the movie Puncture for just 25 cents each. In addition, you'll find great collections of hip-hop, rock and country albums for $3.99 all week, detective novels from $2.99, some of our editorial team's favorite movies from 99 cents, and our favorite apps from 49 cents.

In the U.S., music, movies, books and Android apps are available in Google Play. In Canada and the U.K., we�ll offer movies, books and Android apps; in Australia, books and apps; and in Japan, movies and apps. Everywhere else, Google Play will be the new home for Android apps. Our long-term goal is to roll out as many different types of content as possible to people around the world, and we�ll keep adding new content to keep it fresh.

To learn more, head over to play.google.com/about or keep up with the latest on ourGoogle+ page. If you�re headed to Austin later this week for South by Southwest, come to the Google Village to see Google Play in action. We can�t wait for you to try Google Play and experience a simpler way to manage your entertainment.

Posted by Jamie Rosenberg, Director of Digital Content