Google wants to thank all the users of Android and the Google Play Store. Previously known as the Android Market, it was the Android version of the iOS App Store which allows you to browse and download applications to your mobile device.
Back when it was still known as the Android Market, Google launched several product stores, such as the Google Books and Google Music. Google realized that they were fragmenting their services with several stores and individual services.
That is when they decided to create the Google Play Store – a mall full of different “stores” or categories of products ranging from books, music, movies and apps, found in just one tap of the Google Play Store icon. There were those who were skeptical of the change, and criticized the naming of the new Android market, simply because it departed from the Android name. In time, people got over it and accepted the Play Store logo as the central hub for Google’s digital products.
September 26, 2012 marks the 3 years and 11 months of the store’s existence, as well as their momentous 25 billionth download from the Google Play Store. With Android devices running in more than half of the smartphone market, it was inevitable that the store would catch up to the Apple App Store in number of downloads pretty soon.
This count of course takes both the paid and free Android applications found in the Google Play Store. As thanks for keeping the market and their mobile platform strong, they will launch another sale for multiple apps in their store, which includes apps from Rovio, Gameloft and EA as well as many others who will make the cut.
Get your credit cards ready, as Google plans to sell these apps at a very low 25 cents apiece. Granted that it is higher than Google’s previous 10 cent sale last year, it is still a significant reduction in price for certain apps.
The sale will also apply to other Android products in the form of collections of 25, such as the 25 albums that changed the world and the collection of 25 banned books. All of these will be sold at a special price to commemorate the milestone.
Google is very excited about the first 25 billion downloads, and are looking forward to the next 25 billion to hit their stores. Android has been very successful so far in getting apps to run despite the ongoing fragmentation which leads to some apps to not work properly for some phones. Once this is addressed, the Play Store may find their next 25 billion faster than the first one.
Image source: play.google.com
