- published: 06 May 2016
- views: 1856
Google Play is a digital-distribution multimedia-content service from Google which includes an online store for music, movies, books, and Android applications and games, as well as a cloud media player. The service is accessible from the web, Play Store mobile App on Android and Google TV. Purchased content is available across all of these platforms/devices. Google Play was introduced in March 2012 when Google rebranded and merged its predecessors Android Market and Google Music services.
Free applications are available worldwide, while paid applications are available in 129 countries. Applications can be installed from the device or the Google Play website. According to Google there were over 450,000 titles available as of March 2012. Google Play can update the applications the user selects automatically, or users can update then on a per-case basis or update all applications at once.
Google Play filters the list of applications to those compatible with the user's device. In addition, users may face further restrictions to choice of applications where developers have tied-in their applications to particular carriers or countries for business reasons. Carriers can also ban certain applications, for example tethering applications.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is an American multinational corporation which provides Internet-related products and services, including Internet search, cloud computing, software and advertising technologies. Advertising revenues from AdWords generate almost all of the company's profits.
The company was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while both attended Stanford University. Together, Brin and Page own about 16 percent of the company's stake. Google was first incorporated as a privately held company on September 4, 1998, and its initial public offering followed on August 19, 2004. The company's mission statement from the outset was "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful", and the company's unofficial slogan is "Don't be evil". In 2006, the company moved to its current headquarters in Mountain View, California.
Rapid growth since incorporation has triggered a chain of products, acquisitions, and partnerships beyond the company's core web search engine. The company offers online productivity software including email, an office suite, and social networking. Google's products extend to the desktop as well, with applications for web browsing, organizing & editing photos, and instant messaging. Google leads the development of the Android mobile operating system, as well as the Google Chrome OS browser-only operating system, found on specialized netbooks called Chromebooks.
Play may refer to: