New Android Market Brings Movie Rentals & Book Sales

from Mashable - Stan Schroeder, July 13th, 2011

Google is launching a new version of Android Market for devices running Android 2.2 and higher. The update will offer book sales and movie rentals.

The market has also been thoroughly revamped to be faster and offer more ways to find content, with more top charts and collections of content such as staff picks and editors’ choice apps. The design of the new market is sleek, but it seems to take a cue from the tile design that adorns Windows Phone 7.

To start with movie rentals, download the free “Videos” app from the Android Market, and you can rent movies (starting at $1.99) from the web or your Android phone or tablet. You can also download movies to your device of choice for offline viewing.

Similarly, you can purchase books directly from your phone or tablet. Both books and video rentals are linked to your Google account, meaning they’ll be instantly available on all the devices you own.

The new market will be rolling out in the following weeks to devices running Android 2.2 and higher. Movie rentals and book sales are currently limited only to U.S. customers, but Google promises to expand it to select countries “soon.”

Check out an introductory video for the new Android Market below.