On Tuesday (March 6), visitors to market.google.com, were redirected to play.google.com. Google did not make a big announcement about the change. There was none of the regular chatter on Android sites, about the upcoming changes. About five minutes after I discovered the change, the first tweets started to appear. It was a well kept secret, with the only clue being the change to a single policy for a number of related services.

The single Google Play store integrates four separate stores that includes music, video, books, and Android apps. On Tuesday, the Android Market app had not changed to reflect the new marketing approach. However, on Wednesday (March 7), the Android Market app changed to reflect the new look.

Along with the site change, three apps were rebranded. The new names are now Google Play Book, Google Play Music, and Google Play Movies. It appears that Google aims to become the one stop shopping site for all things related to Android. These are not new services. I have downloaded eBooks from Google in the past. Never purchased music from them, but have watched movies on YouTube. While the movies are still on YouTube, there is no longer a link on the YouTube website to those movies, you will have to go direct to them.

Other than the Android apps, the eBooks, movies, and music are not limited to Android. All purchases are part of the free Google Cloud. If you purchase a movie for an Android tablet, you can watch it on your laptop from any browser, on any platform. In fact, you can play the movies any number of times within the rental period, and on different devices. The Google Play web site, shows you all your books, music, movies, and apps. Of course, you can share your finds through Google+.

If you use Google Chrome as a browser, you can download extensions for Google Play Books, Google Play Music, and Google Play Movies. Google Play Books does provide the ability to download books for offline reading. Google Play Music allows you to upload your music library to the cloud, which then makes it available on all of your devices.

In Costa Rica, Google Play Movies and Google Play Music are not available. However, I was able to access both through my VPN connection. Even with a VPN connection on my Android tablet, I am having a problem downloading the Android apps for Google Play Movies and Google Play Music. I suspect that this is related to my Google account settings, which have me living in Costa Rica. However, I can still access the site through a Web browser on my Android tablet.

Since everything is tied to your Google account, I recommend increasing your security settings. I changed my account to use two step access. The first time you access your Google account, you will be asked for your password and a verification code. The verification code is sent to your cell phone. Just in case your cell phone is not handy, you should print the set of one-time codes. There is also an Android app that provides one-time codes. These codes are specific to your account. Two step verification requires more work, but it adds another level of security beyond passwords.

So what about all the links in the previous Technology articles I have published here on The Costa Rica Star? They still work. Google automatically redirects to Google Play. Have fun playing with the new Google layout, and let us know your thoughts if you have time.