Google rebrands Android Market, other entertainment services as Google Play

What’s in a name? Quite a lot if the latest announcement from Google is any indication. The internet giant is changing the name of the Android Market to the Google Play Store.

Well, it’s actually a little more complicated than that. Google Play is a cloud-based service that will consolidate Android Market, Google Music and the Google eBookstore into one destination.

Google calls Play “a digital entertainment destination where you can find, enjoy and share your favourite music, movies, books and apps on the web and on your Android phone or tablet”.

In an official blog post, the company claims that the new service will allow people to:

• 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 movies, including new releases and HD titles

  According to the post, the changes begin with immediate effect and will see each service affixed with the Google Play moniker.

  The full Google Play offering will only be available in the US. In Canada and the U.K., Google Play will 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.

  Right, who wants to play?