A year ago, Google (GOOG +1.71%) rebranded its Android Market as Google Play while expanding its content offerings beyond just Android apps to include music, TV shows, e-books, and more. The move consolidated three separately branded stores under one umbrella: Android Market, Google Music, and Google eBookstore.
The search giant is now celebrating Google Play's first birthday with free digital handouts as party favors. Big G will be offering discounts and free handouts on apps, music, and video content all week long as a way of thanking its users for a solid first year. Since its launch, Google Play has further expanded to become an important initiative for Google since the company also now sells its branded Chromebook and Nexus hardware lineups directly through Google Play.
Content ecosystems have become critically important for platform success nowadays, and Google Play has seen much success over the past year.
