Earlier this month Google decided to change the name of its Android Market to Google Play, and if you have looked closely at your Google toolbar recently you may have noticed it now features a new Google Play link that takes you direct to the rebranded app store.

Google’s new service now brings together books, movies, and music alongside applications in an effort by the search engine giant to make users experience much nicer. It is a good idea by the company, as Droid Life are reporting there could still be many users that are wondering what happened to their Android Market.

It also means that it’s some free promotion for the Android platform and its applications, as despite the popularity of the Android platform now, in some user’s eyes Google Play is still behind Apple’s App Store for content. Google also has the upcoming competition from the joint effort from Microsoft and Nokia with the creation of App Campus, which is looking to create better quality apps for the platform.

The success of applications for the Windows Phone platform will depend how the consumer takes to it in the coming months, so Google are using its size to promote its own app store and there is nothing wrong in that as it’s what most companies do. This will benefit users of the Android platform hopefully as more developers look to bring their apps to the platform, which as just seen the highly anticipated Temple Run being released.

Do you like the new Google Play redesign and are you pleased about the new link being added to the Google toolbar?