A couple days back, Google released a new version of the Android Market specially made for smartphone users. With the new Android Market, phone users can now purchase e-books and rent movies, features which were previously only available to Android Tablets running Android 3.1. The new Android Market for phones is made for devices running Android 2.2+ and will be made available in the coming weeks.
For those who want to rent movies, all you need to do is download a separate Videos app via the Android Market and then from there, you don’t have to worry about download waiting times, syncing or storage space – just log in to Android Market using your Google account and you can rent movies from the web, your Android device and start watching movies instantly. Users also have an option to download the movies to their device for later viewing, when there’s no available Internet connection.
Screenshots:
Demo video
Movies and Books are currently only available to U.S. users, who can rent movies starting at $1.99. The same goes for purchasing e-books, which are linked to your Google account and instantly available via any Android-powered device. The new Android Market for smartphones will be made available to other countries soon.
My Nook Color, which I rooted and installed CyanogenMod 7.0.2-encore doesn’t have the new Android Market but rather version 2.3.6 so I haven’t tried this out yet and will wait for the official update to be released. If you can’t wait and would want to get access, you can get it from Android and Me and Phandroid who are providing download links to the unofficial APK files. Please keep in mind that these are not official sources/files so download and install at your own risk.
Has anyone seen or tried the new Android Market for phones? How do you like it? What are the things you like/dislike about it? Please share your thoughts.
