HUA HIN, Thailand - Google is
re-branding and unifying its online app store,
e-book, games, music and movie services into one
destination called Google Play. Android Market
Place will be rolled into play.google.com which
will host all of the free and paid apps, totaling
over 450,000 in number, along with entertainment
titles such as movie rentals and music available
for download.
The new online storefront
will be available from any Android device or web
browser, it will also act as a cloud based storage
locker for users who want to keep their digital
purchases on the web. To promote the launch Google
is offering discount albums, books, movies and
apps all week.
Google is attempting to use
its search and smart-phone dominance to grab a
slice of the digital entertainment pie which is
currently in the hands
of Apple's iTunes and Amazon Inc. By streamlining
the user experience and offering discounts Google
hopes that it can convert more of its Android
clients into movie buyers and paying music
downloaders, netting the search giant greater
profits in the process.
The next step is
likely to be the inclusion of TV shows, audio
books, online media and magazines but Google will
have to be careful that they don't follow in
Apple's avaricious footsteps by demanding too big
a cut that ends up with it having very few media
partners. The company has already snapped up a few
clue-yielding domain names and has created the
placeholders for audio books and magazines and
journals on its help portal. A subscription model
is bound to follow.
Also to follow is a
consolidation of Google's gaming platforms, at the
moment there are somewhat fragmented portals for
Google+ Games, Chrome Web Store games, Games for
Native Client and Android games. The implication
is that the company will unify its web browser,
social hub, and Android-based mobile platforms
offering developers a single, wider audience.
Despite that the name Google Play conjures
up connotations of a digital fairground where you
can win tacky games for your handheld, it does
have a lot more to offer than the somewhat
stagnant notion of a Marketplace for apps. Even
Apple has struggled to drop the name iTunes from
its all-encompassing online app and entertainment
platform so for Google's sake let's hope the name
"Play" isn't too reflective of the nature of the
content.
Hardware Apple has
dominated the tech headlines again this week with
all the usual superfluous hype surrounding the
release of its latest gadget, the New iPad.
Essentially the tablet device, released on
Wednesday, has been upgraded and tweaked slightly
and still bears huge resemblance to its
predecessor.
It has an improved display,
dual core processor with quad graphics engine, 5
Megapixel camera, and 4G connectivity but little
more to separate it from the slew of similar
devices on the market apart from the coveted logo.
The unit will go on sale in the US on March 16 at
US$499 for the basic model rising to over $700 for
one with more storage and wireless capabilities.
Noticeably absent was a new name, iPad 3
was the expected moniker however Apple just stuck
with "New iPad". Stock value remained flat as
reaction to the launch lacked the wow factor
usually associated with Apple product releases.
Apple fan sites and aficionados though wasted no
time touting the high resolution screen as being
the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Regardless of the otherwise lackluster
launch Apple's iPad is expected to continue
selling well throughout 2012 with reports from
industry analysts iSuppli indicating that the
tablet will hold around 60% of the market share.
Rival tablets from Windows are not expected to
make an impact until 2013.
Despite all of
the Apple worshiping on tech websites research
firm Gartner predicted an upturn in the PC market
with computer shipments expected to grow 4.4% this
year and 10% in 2013. Powering that resurgence
will be a number of ultra-thin laptops and the
release of Windows 8 towards the end of the year.
According to Gartner PC shipments worldwide will
climb from 368 million units this year to more
than 400 million in 2013.
Tablets maybe
all the rage amongst those that want to be trendy
but the personal computer workhorse is still
widely used by professionals and corporations
alike. It will be a long time before everyone is
tapping and swiping screens instead of using
traditional input methods for digital
productivity.
Industry Samsung
fired a salvo back at Apple this week in the
ongoing patent battles between the two companies
that have spanned the globe. The action was taken
on Samsung's home turf, the South Korean capital
Seoul, where the electronics giant has accused
Apple of further patent violation regarding the
way data is displayed on mobile devices.
The legal action is the latest in a string
of litigations that began with Apple accusing
Samsung of "slavishly copying" its designs by
manufacturing rectangular handsets with curved
edges. Apple has a number of ongoing legal battles
with other smart-phone manufacturers, most of
which use Google's rival operating system,
Android, to power their devices.
Martin J Young is an Asia Times
Online correspondent based in Thailand.
(Copyright 2012 Asia Times Online
(Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
contact us about sales, syndication and
republishing.)
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