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Google amalgamates e-commerce offerings

Friday, March 9, 2012 - 12:54 by Mike Price

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Search giant Google has decided to pull together its various platforms for shopping online under a single brand, which will help to present a unified front to consumers.

Google Play is the moniker given to the new service, which will include a variety of different platforms previously identified by different brands.

Mobile users will now note that the Android Market, Google's smartphone app download service, is getting pulled under the Google Play umbrella, along with services like Google Books and Google Music.

Google is using its expertise in cloud computing to make all of its e-commerce platforms far more cohesive and accessible. It should be possible to purchase an application, eBook, music file or other piece of content from any device and then access it from any other gadget on which your Google account and compatible services are available.

Google Play will initially contain over 20,000 music tracks, close to half a million Android-compatible applications and other services, including movie rentals for streaming.

Google spokesperson, Jamie Rosenberg, explained that the cloud-based nature of Google Play's storage means that you will not have to worry about losing track of the digital content you have purchased via safe shopping online.

Mr Rosenberg also pointed out that because everything is stored in the cloud, you will never have to transfer over content when you purchase a new device. Of course it does mean that you will require constant network access to enjoy your purchases in full, but then this has always been a key part of Google's business strategy.

Google has been enacting a number of initiatives in order to consolidate its brand in recent months, from simplifying its privacy policy to combining various services and even getting rid of certain platforms, in order to present itself in a less fragmentary manner.