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!
Life is quite complicated enough with out these confusing and darn right rude alterations also why no vouchers I’m not keen on putting credit card details on the web
I told my cousin to check out this app I had been playing and he told me he couldn’t because something happened to his market icon.
Getting sick of hearing the name google. Android market was better.
Google Play sounds like a game market, not a digital store that also contains business apps.
No update yet on the VZW LTE GNex. Just me?
same, kinda glad though 😉
Thanks to root and blocking ALL Market update related files and folders on my Razr Maxx. I’m still running Android Market 2.3.6. I didn’t like it when Google forced the movies, books and music to the market. So I locked Google out from updates. Unless Google (and they won’t) forces a REQUIRED minimum market version running. I’ll keep sporting my APP only “working-100%-fine-Android-Market”!
Why didn’t you like the movies books and music being added to the market? What’s wrong with more options?
What if I don’t want to agree to the terms and conditions for music, books and movies? then it won’t let me do updates on my apps.
Why not agree to the terms? If you aren’t going to purchase anything then they wont be able to hold you to them. Me thinks you’re just complaining for the sake of it.
My bank has changed hands/names several times. In this day of mergers galore, is a small name change really that confusing?
For my kids, wife and other family members the market automagicly updated and added the new icon in the app drawer, but left the old market shortcut so they were telling me the market wouldnt work. I had to delete the old market and replace with a play shortcut and then explain to them it was the same thing. Not a big deal, but I was annoyed because I had to do that on 5 tablets and several phones. I had a line of family members waiting! LOL I think those of us on the DL aren’t confused, but its all our friends and family we support that are.
I like the sound of Google Store, and possibly Google Market (because you could still use the term “Market” when you are referring to the android app store). Either would be better then calling it Google Play. Google Play sounds too, i don’t want to say childish, but it sounds like they didn’t put enough thought into renaming it, and were just having fun with new names.
Say it. It sounds childish.
Someone I have added to Facebook was PISSED because they thought Google had bought Android thus the new Google Play Store. I informed them otherwise.
I saw some of that on facebook too. SMH.
My brother called me today and said um, where’s the market. So people are definitely still confused. I got a text message from Verizon yesterday though explaining it.
This is a pretty big foul up, just imagine all the regular joes who don’t know anything about phones. My younger brother is 17, he’s into tech and even he had to ask me where the market went.
You know, my knee-jerk reaction was, “Good grief! What’s the big deal?!” Than I started to think about the fact that I am an early adopter and spend more time reading about technology than the average smartphone user. I can see how this could be confusing. Google really did not do a good job marketing the change. No real surprise there, though. They do a shitty job marketing Android, generally, as well as making sure that OEMs provide the best possible experience for Android customers. This has bugged me for quite some time — http://goo.gl/4Pq9f
I agree with some others that Google Market might have been a better moniker, because it would make sense, optically; plus it would give Google a much broader foundation to integrate new services or offerings in the market. I can just see some internal focus group on the grounds of the GooglePlex high-fiving each other about using “Play.” Yeah! Sounds fun. It’s…wait for it…playful. Womp Womp.
I’m sticking with you for now Google, but you have GOT to do a better job with marketing your products. This is not Field of Dreams. Google is going to have to grow a pair and actually, actively, go after customers and end-users.
Verizon sent me a text three days after the update happened on my phone. I like that they tried to inform me, the timing was off though.
so glad I didnt update
Ever since that stupid update to Google Play, my galaxy nexus and my girlfriend’s galaxy nexus receive an error when you try to buy something in the market app. The browser version of the store still works fine.
Ok so should I really ask for an iPhone now at the office or is it still possible to download business apps in the Play Store?
I’m on Verizon and mine switched over last week. I have a friend on Sprint, and as of yesterday, hers is still the good ole android market. Looks like Sprint has some catching up to do……
Your friend probably hasn’t updated their phone. Mine has been Google Play for a while now and I have Sprint.
I don’t know if it’s the AOKP rom itself or the Nova Launcher that’s built into it, but I just changed the name and icon to the old Market and bag when it got updated to Play. 😀
If you’re confused about a name change then get an Iphone. It’s as simple as Android
market play.
let us not forget about the potential to piss off siri: “Andy, Play Store” or “Andy, Play Music”
I have heard so much bad crap about it, that I refused to upgrade
Er…how did you refuse?
Use titanium backup to freeze the system market updater apk. Must be rooted obviously. If already updated, the updates can be rolled back (removed) by going into system app utility, selecting market, and “remove updates.”
I don’t think the rebranding is going to well…
I still think it should of been, ‘Google Market’.
Then use this FREE app as it gives you the “Market” icon back with the name “Market”.. the way it should have been left
http://goo.gl/10oRX
Hmm…random apk file of unknown origin promising to cure all my ills? sounds legit.
But, it’s still the same store just with a different name. How stupid are people? I say, let them fall to the way side. Survival of the fittest.
My wife is an average/non-techie person and even she figured it out without me telling her. She even told me about it when I got home from work that day. I, of course, already knew about it, but she told me anyway.
My wife received the text as well, but here is the odd thing. We both got our Droid 2 Globals at the same time (BOGO). She received the text but yet her Market hasn’t updated to Play Store yet. I did not receive the text and mine was upgraded quite some time ago. So much for consistency.
I wish they had just gone with google music/market etc. I don’t like having to scroll all the way down.
Get ICS, then you can scroll side to side. 😉
+1
I think the Play Store is an excellent name that encompasses entirely the direction Google wants to go with games, apps, music, books, movies, and tv shows all in one place. The word “play” is associated with fun and enjoyment, and store is self explanatory…except tell me how often there are free things in a store?
For the people that were confused by the change, I sure hope that facebook doesn’t change its name back to thefacebook…I fear for your children and pets if this would happen.
I agree, if it’d been called the “Google Play Store.” There is no “store” in the name. It’s simply “Google Play,” which is the most irrelevant, nondescript, and inane name I’ve ever heard.
What is facebook? Is that like MySpace? 😉
Hopefully android users are smart enough to figure this out.
I feel it was a half-azzed move. It the intention was to make Android look like a mature, developed mobile platform (as opposed to the eyelessPhone), renaming Market to “Play” … makes it look like a children’s game forum.
Hide yo kids…
any idea as to WHY there playing the name game? dose it have to do with lawsuit issues?
seriously it’s a terrible name. but whatever.
Is it really that complicated?
My brother was telling me he thought he deleted the Market and was freaking out.
Google will now sue companies that have this name, like the Xperia Play, PlayStation, McDonald’s PlayPlace . . . wait, wrong company. Carry on.
Ha ha ha….did u write that one?
nope, he stole it from Apple
No wonder….Apple has grown accustomed to being ripped off by fandroids….
I didn’t read the text message, and I really don’t want to read the article either.
I didn’t want to read your comment. 😛
Anybody else with a stock GNex, using Apex Launcher having trouble with the Play Store app in folders on their homescreen? A second app keeps popping up in my folder and the one that was already there wont work. It stays fine until I reboot my phone. Then the same semi-annoying thing happens, then i have to delete the original one and use the second one that appeared.
I’ve seen some Facebook posts from confused Android users about losing their market. Pushing aside the discussion about the actual choice of name, Google should’ve done a bit more of a push to educate all users of the change, prior to executing it. Emails, notification alert, etc. They have the options to inform.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. VZW should fire their PR dept and contract Droid-Life for the work. Droid Life is always faster, better and more accurate than anything you’ll hear from VZW. 🙂 Edit: I guess I have two left hands, this was supposed to be a reply to bigrob60.
I love DL as much as the rest of us…but
http://i.imgur.com/V0qdq.jpg
Ha. It’s good to be champ. 🙂
hah..yes it is.
thx for not taking that too seriously
Except Droid-Life is slow compared to the other phone/tech websites.
I got that text last week on my Nexus. I shrugged it off as unimportant.
I never received a text from verizon about the name change and update that removed the market and installed a new icon. I only noticed a new icon in my app drawer to see wth it was. Wasn’t confusing and frustrating though, people with half a brain i think can figure it out.The new name should be Google market though.
I just got that txt message. Thank you DL for keeping me a head of the loop.
They should have had something in the market in the weeks leading up to the change saying that Google Market was becoming Google Play.
They could have just wrote it in one of their metro tiles.
Not confused, annoyed.
Average users have no idea of this change. Users who visit sites like this aren’t the majority of Android users, we are a small subset.