Google‘s decision today to turn its utilitarian-sounding Android Market into Google Play may perplex some observers, who wonder if it really wants to make all 450,000 apps on the platform sound frivolous. But it’s clearly a pointed attempt–on the eve of Apple’s introduction of the new iPad, no less–to pose a credible challenge to Apple as the leader in providing access to the world’s entertainment.
Google Play, which the company calls a “digital entertainment destination,” brings together Google’s music, movies, books, and apps all in one place, making them available anywhere because they reside in the cloud. That means they can be played on any device, and can even pick up a song or movie on a smartphone from where you left off on a personal computer.
While Google executives would never phrase it this way, the company has positioned Android itself for some time as the Microsoft of mobile operating systems. The Android app system is much more open, for better or worse, with Google figuring that it will let a gazillion apps bloom, in contrast to Apple’s carefully tended walled garden. It worked for Microsoft, mostly, in its earlier battle against Apple, and even helped it avoid becoming roadkill on the Internet.
And frankly, I’ve always thought that Android was a rather geeky name that would have trouble catching on as a meaningful brand to consumers. Labeling all the services with the Google name seems like a smarter play, as it were. Although the name seems to give short shrift to the many thousands of non-entertainment apps, I suspect Google will find other ways to highlight them–Google Apps Apps, perhaps?
Will Google Play work? In the short term, no. Apple has a lock not only on its own users of iPods, iPhones, and iPads, but on users of other devices thanks to the near-ubiquity of iTunes. For example, while I have most of my music now stored in Google Music, if it’s still called that, I end up playing most of it out of iTunes out of habit.
Even longer-term, I’m doubtful that Google Play will hurt Apple much. But if Google can pull off what’s needed well enough–meaning a close-to-seamless experience and deals with a broad range of content providers, many of which remain wary of the search giant–it’s likely to be one of the few ultimate winners in digital entertainment distribution.
Google‘s decision today to turn its utilitarian-sounding Android Market into Google Play may perplex some observers, who wonder if it really wants to make all 450,000 apps on the platform sound frivolous. But it’s clearly a pointed attempt–on the eve of Apple’s introduction of the new iPad, no less–to pose a credible challenge to Apple as the leader in providing access to the world’s entertainment.
Google Play, which the company calls a “digital entertainment destination,” brings together Google’s music, movies, books, and apps all in one place, making them available anywhere because they reside in the cloud. That means they can be played on any device, and can even pick up a song or movie on a smartphone from where you left off on a personal computer.
While Google executives would never phrase it this way, the company has positioned Android itself for some time as the Microsoft of mobile operating systems. The Android app system is much more open, for better or worse, with Google figuring that it will let a gazillion apps bloom, in contrast to Apple’s carefully tended walled garden. It worked for Microsoft, mostly, in its earlier battle against Apple, and even helped it avoid becoming roadkill on the Internet.
And frankly, I’ve always thought that Android was a rather geeky name that would have trouble catching on as a meaningful brand to consumers. Labeling all the services with the Google name seems like a smarter play, as it were. Although the name seems to give short shrift to the many thousands of non-entertainment apps, I suspect Google will find other ways to highlight them–Google Apps Apps, perhaps?
Will Google Play work? In the short term, no. Apple has a lock not only on its own users of iPods, iPhones, and iPads, but on users of other devices thanks to the near-ubiquity of iTunes. For example, while I have most of my music now stored in Google Music, if it’s still called that, I end up playing most of it out of iTunes out of habit.
Even longer-term, I’m doubtful that Google Play will hurt Apple much. But if Google can pull off what’s needed well enough–meaning a close-to-seamless experience and deals with a broad range of content providers, many of which remain wary of the search giant–it’s likely to be one of the few ultimate winners in digital entertainment distribution.
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