A new Google Play store started popping up earlier in the week as version 3.5.16, up from 3.5.15. As you would expect from such a minor change in build number, there isn’t anything standing out as being drastically different. In fact, we aren’t sure that anything has actually changed. Backend or security stuff perhaps? Tough to tell. Feel free to download it below if your phone hasn’t already updated. 

Download:  com.android.vending-1.apk

Cheers Brandon!

Download: Google Play Store Build 3.5.16 is a post from: Droid Life

Notice anything “new” in your Google toolbar within the last few minutes? You should see a Google Play link attached, well, unless you use a Google Apps account. So far, I’m only seeing the new “Play” link in my standard Gmail accounts and not my Gapps account. That shouldn’t detract from a move that makes complete sense. We wouldn’t be surprised if there are still a couple of million Android users out there that have no idea what happened to their Android Market. For those who haven’t caught up, this simple little change to your toolbar should help a bit.

Cheers Kris and Terry!

Google Play Link Added to Google Toolbar is a post from: Droid Life

The new Google Play Store (build 3.5.15) that we first reported on last night, is now available for download after the break. Not only does it include a new tabbed experience in your “My Apps” section, but reviews of apps are more informative. You can see the device of the person leaving the review and also choose to filter by your own device if you wish. A very solid update, indeed. 

Download:  3.5.15.apk

Install right over the top of your current Google Play store just like you always do.

Cheers @lilcdroid!

Download: New Google Play Store Build 3.5.15 is a post from: Droid Life

A new version of the Android Market Google Play Store is slowly rolling out to handsets tonight, bringing with it a handful of new features from what we have gathered. As you can see from the screenshot on the left, it will now show you apps that have been installed and if they are up to date. There is also an “All” tab of sorts, which we are hearing is a list of all apps that you have ever downloaded.

We are seeing an “Unlock settings” option in the Settings menu along with the new build number of 3.5.15. We wish we had additional details, but most of our markets are not updating just yet. We’ll update this post as soon as we know more.

Update:  You can download the new version here.

Cheers Michael NM, Alan, and @mattwitscott!

New Google Play Store 3.5.15 Rolling Out – Shows Up to Date Apps, Previous Installs, and More is a post from: Droid Life

Since Google decided to change the Android Market to the Google Play Store without warning or much of a push to try to educate users, companies like Verizon are stepping in to help. Text messages have been sent out to the majority of their Android customers over the last week, reminding them that the Android Market is gone and is now called Google Play or “Play Store” in your app drawer (can we get more confusing than that?).

And while the DL community is already up to speed on this, I suggest that you inform all of your Android friends of this change. Each family member of mine with an Android phone had no idea that this had happened and was completely confused at least once in the last week when entering their app drawer. I had to tell them to look for “Play Store,” but that was of course after their market updated and then refreshed.

My instant reaction to this change was, “Yeah, makes sense in the long haul.” After all, music, books and movies are more than just Android, so creating a more generic store term is probably the right call. The potentially wrong call here is the name, which most of us still can’t understand. Why not call it the “Google Store” or “Google Market.” Sure, Google Play sounds catchy and the promo team can use it to run promos for “Play of the day!” but it seems like a half-discussed move by execs.

So again, spread the word. Tell your friends, family members and co-workers that the Android Market is gone for good and that all of their media consumption will happen through the Google Play Store.

Cheers Chris and everyone else that sent these in!

Android Users Still Confused About Google Play is a post from: Droid Life

In case it hasn’t appeared yet on your device, here you go… 

Download:  com.android.vending-2.apk

Download and install right over top of your current market.

Download: New Google Play Store Version 3.4.6 is a post from: Droid Life

We thought that Google TV users were the lucky ones, but it appears now as if a variety of Android devices including the Galaxy Nexus and Motorola XOOM are receiving the new Google Play Store. Not much changes as far as functionality goes, but the logo and look certainly have. Check it out after the break. 

Actually, the Google Play Store Update is Rolling Out to a Bunch of Devices – Galaxy Nexus and XOOM Included is a post from: Droid Life

With a big renaming campaign taking place today from Google, there have been a lot of people who have voiced their opinions over the new Google Play name. Google’s move for a name change is still being dissected and analyzed for meaning, but we know that Google must have a good reason behind it. Was it a strategic move against competitors or was it to satisfy the media industries (read: music industry disappointment) that have invested a ton of money into making their content sell? Let us know what you think of the new name down below and if it was a good move by Google.

Tuesday Poll: Reaction to the Google Play Rebranding of the Android Market? is a post from: Droid Life

For a couple of years now, especially when downloading big 3D games, users have had to download an app or host file of sorts from the market and then take extra time to download the actual content of the game  through that host app which can be upwards of 1-2GB. The problem from a consumer perspective, was that the 15-minute refund window for apps started once this initial app was downloaded. But by the time you finished downloading the rest of the meaningful content (that 1-2GB) that would allow you to use the app, your window might have expired. So should you decide that the app was a waste of money, you would simply be out of luck and unable to get a refund if your download didn’t finish fast enough for you to test the app.

As of today, that changes completely. The Android team announced that developers now have the option of uploading two “expansion” files of up to 2GB in size each (4GB total for the math majors in the building). This essentially means that developers won’t have to host their apps outside of the market for you to download. This also means that your refund window will not start until these expansion files have finished downloading. Cool, right?

The standard file limit size remains at 50MB.

If you are a developer and need more dirty details on this, hit up the source link below.

Via:  Google Developers

Google Ups Android Market App File Size Limits to 4GB, Gives You Until App Fully Downloads Before Starting Refund Period is a post from: Droid Life

Click here to view the embedded video.

When developer redphx sent over his latest creation last night – a Chrome extension that would allow you to download .apk files directly from the Android Market to your desktop – we had two immediate thoughts. The first, “Wow, this is actually really cool and could be useful down the road.” The second was, “While it’s cool and all, how frowned upon by Google and developers is this going to be?” And the reason I asked myself that second question is because pulling an installed .apk file from your phone isn’t normally the simplest procedure (and probably for a few good reasons). 

In most cases, a user needs to be rooted and have the understanding of where to look on their phone in order to accomplish the task. We would assume that this is made difficult to help stop piracy, protect users’ security, and to not let applications float freely around without control. This Chrome extension changes all of that. All you need to do is install the extension, give it a bit of device info and a legit Market login and you can start ripping .apks. Paid applications cannot be downloaded unless the Market login you gave had already purchased the app. So this isn’t a way to get paid apps for free, it’s just a way to get the .apk file without any fuss.

It’s not all bad though. How many times have we posted up a new app that was only available to select devices? Most of the time these apps can run on other phones, but the developer has only optimized them for a select few. This extension would give you to the opportunity to try out those apps even if the Market, your carrier, or developer has decided that you shouldn’t. Take Google Wallet for example. No need to use our browser trick if you have this extension installed.

So if this interests you, keep in mind that it asks for some bits of info that not everyone will be comfortable dishing out – like your device ID and Gmail login info. This is all apparently stored on a cookie that is only on your PC, but still, proceed with caution. You also have to tweak some Chrome security settings.

And yes, it works.

More Info:  Apk Downloader Page

Chrome Extension Lets You Download Android App Apks Directly From the Market to Your Desktop is a post from: Droid Life

Over the course of this long holiday season, the Android Market reached 400,000+ applications.  A mighty impressive number considering its lifespan is that of only 3 years.  Thanks to Distimo, there has been plenty of research into the growth of the Android Market and they have made a wonderful chart tracking the rate at which the Market has grown over the last year.  According to their research, a huge factor in the Market’s growth and success, is the large amount of free applications which reaches a whopping 68%.  That is a lot of  free apps. 

The year 2011 has been fantastic for the Market, reaching 200k apps in April and 300k  just four months later in August, before topping out at 400k in December.  As the number of applications published grows, so has the amount of publishers in general, reaching 100,000 in total with an average of 4.1 apps published per publisher. But, you and I as consumers know that not all of these 400k apps are going to be awesome and I am sure that a good-size amount of these apps are Asian wallpaper apps, or anti-virus junk apps.  All joking aside, I think it’s safe to say that Android continues to blow away expectations.  And with the growing number of excellent app developers heading towards Android, the future is looking bigger and brighter than ever.

Via: Distimo

Google’s Android Market Hits The 400K Apps Milestone is a post from: Droid Life

If you have yet to frequent the Music section in the Android Market, now would probably be a good time to start. A “blowout sale” is underway that will get you into a half a million different albums for $5 each or 10 million different tracks for just 49 cents. Not a bad way for Google to push this new venture.

Market Links:  Promo Page of Singles | Top Albums

Android Market Hosting Music Blowout Sale: Half a Million Albums for $4.99, Over 10 Million Tracks for 49 Cents is a post from: Droid Life

The newest version up the Android Market has popped up thanks to a long time friend of the site, bringing you all up to version 3.4.4. There aren’t a lot of new features from what we can tell, but you will see a new option to “Auto-add widgets.” It’s still unclear exactly what that means though. We downloaded an app that most definitely has widgets included and were not prompted to load them nor did it auto-load them. (Could be just the renamed Auto-add apps box, as has been suggested in the comments) Speed improvements are also supposed to be noticeable.

Download:  Market.apk

Cheers 0mie (2)!

Download: New Android Market Version 3.4.4 is a post from: Droid Life

All week, we have been celebrating the 10 billion app milestone that the Android Market achieved. 10 cent apps anyone? Yes, please.

If you were dying to find out more info on those 10 billion app downloads though, then the Android Developers team has you covered with one massive infographic. Stats that you will find include the most popular time to download apps, which countries download the most, which categories are the hottest, how many miles have been navigated on Google Maps, and how many cans have been knocked down playing Can Knockdown. Fun facts.

Full infographic after the break.  

Via:  Android Developers

[Infographic] A Closer Look at Android’s 10 Billion App Downloads is a post from: Droid Life

It is day two of Google’s ten days of premium apps for just 10 cents!  Yesterday had some really great options and today is no different.  To name just a few of the biggest names we have Fruit Ninja, Beautiful Widgets, and Read It Later Pro.  This is possibly the greatest deal to ever come to the Android Market and we still have 8 days left!

• Fruit Ninja
• BB – Bedtime Battle 
• AirSync by doubleTwist 
• Flick Golf! 
• Star Chart 
• Reckless Racing
• Christmas HD
• NFL Rivals
• Beautiful Widgets
• Read It Later Pro

If you want to see the whole page of deals, then check out the Android Market.

Day 2 of Google’s 10 Days of 10 Cent Apps: Beautiful Widgets, Fruit Ninja, and More is a post from: Droid Life