Google Play is known as Google’s pretty red ribbon; it is the finishing touch that ties together all of Google’s hit services, including music, movies, books, and apps. By all means, the product itself is impressive, and according to Google’s blogspot allows users to store up to 20,000 songs for free, download Android apps and games, get eBooks, and rent new releases and HD titles. And because it’s cloud-based, if your computer crashes or is stolen, all of your data is already backed up. But when it comes to Apple’s thriving ecosystem, Google simply can’t touch this.
Actually, Google Play is a lot like MC Hammer: flashy, loud, and at this point, a bit derivative.
Aesthetically speaking, Google Play and iTunes are fairly different. iTunes offers the classic Apple approach: clean pages, a silver color scheme, lots of white space, and pops of color only when used for depicting a book or movie. Google Play on the other hand displays scrolling advertisements, bright and bold icons, and rainbow fonts. But while Google tries to distract viewers with eye-catching design, it’s easy to miss the fact that none of the elements within Google Play are new; rather, they are old products integrated under one shiny new brand.
Play is set up much like the way iTunes was from the start, which houses all the same concepts plus TV shows, podcasts, and more from one application. However, Google Play’s model is Android market-heavy. It have not only incorporated the Android market into its product, but have made the market a substantial part of the system. For instance, there are half a million apps, but only a couple thousand movies. Thus, Google has unintentionally condemned Play’s demographic to be mostly Android users, who go to the site searching for the latest app. Unlike so many of Google’s other successfully applications, such as Chrome, Maps, Videos, and Translate, which are universally used by Macs and PCs, Google Play must tone down the Android market’s presence if it wants to attract iPhone users. Otherwise, Google Play will simply be seen as an Android extension rather than a brand that could evolve into an iconic Google staple. If Google wants to rectify the situation, it might want to take a note from iTunes and boast a stronger music and media presence.
When all is said and done, I do like Google--it has created extensions that I would be utterly lost without. Unfortunately, it are stuck in a rut of launching products where it ostracizes its primary fan base. Take Google Plus, which organizationally is better than Facebook, yet lacks the audience to take off. Or NFC technology, which Apple will crush with the iPhone 5 this fall.
In other words, Google, remember to appeal to all users, not merely as the “alternative option” to what’s already popular. Ditch the emphasis on Androids, and then we’ll talk.
