Taking a lead from Apple's iTunes, the search engine giant Google has amalgamated its various media components into one central online hub, called Google Play.
With most of us having built up our vast media libraries over a number of years, making the transition to a new central system may seem like a daunting task, but the process is actually quite simple. Here's a brief guide to get you started.
What is Google Play?
With Play, Google has developed a central hub from which users can access their entire library of music, videos, books, apps, and games. What was once split into three separate entities -- Google Books, Google Music or Google Movies -- now falls under the one single unified category.
In addition, an integrated market for Android apps allows users to browse and purchase apps and games. What's more, all media files can be stored online, and accessed without the need to sync devices.
Some of Google Play's most prominent features include space for up to 20,000 songs, the ability to sync apps and books across various devices, as well as the ability to upload your media files to a cloud server that can be accessed from anywhere.
Music
Google Play allows users to upload up to 20,000 songs from their hard drive to store on Google's cloud server, for free. This can be done by downloading Google's Music Manager to your computer from the site's Music section.
In addition, you can use Google's music store to browse and download new songs to your Google Play account. Aside from the millions of songs and albums in the store, here are hundreds of free songs available to help you build up your collection.
Books
Google Play Books allows users to compile their collection of eBooks to read on a computer, smartphone or electronic reader. The entire collection can be accessed from anywhere, provided there is an internet collection available. The online store allows you to browse thousands of titles and download them straight to the cloud. To get started, simply download the Google Play Books app to your computer and other devices.
Android Apps and Games
There are over 450,000 Android apps available on the Google Play apps store. To begin growing your collection, tap the Google Play Store app and follow the instructions to add a Google account to your device. Once you have signed in, simply connect the device to your computer and log in to the apps store to begin downloading.
Movies
Google Play Movies is one of the most comprehensive sections of the entire Google Pay suite. Aside from the impressive collection of thousands of titles available for download, users can also stream or even rent films to watch on their computer or handheld devices. You can begin watching movies by downloading the Google Play Movies application for your compute and Android devices. You're then free to begin browsing the Google Play Movies store.
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