It seems that in ways similar to the Energizer bunny, Google just keeps going and going. After premiering Google Music and eBooks only last year, on March 6, the mega search engine announced that it would be housing its books, movies, music and games all in one “play place”. It’s called Google Play.

As a way to draw even more competition to companies like Apple and its many entertainment options, aside from the convenience that going to one site for several things will provide, Google Play has many other perks as well. If you were accustomed to purchasing various games and apps through the Android Market, you can now buy over 450,000 of them at Google Play. If you are looking to share some of your favorite songs, thanks to Google Play, you are now able to download 20,000 of them for free (there is a catalog of over eight million songs that are available for purchase as well). If books are what you’re after, Google Play current has over four million for you to choose from and when it comes to movie selections, while it does cost around four dollars to rent the film for a day, the good news is that Google Play will allow you to watch it from virtually any device (so yes, your laptop but also your smartphone).

In the efforts of soon being considered the place to go for media services, some tech critics that have already tested out the site (that will be loading new features over the next several days) to see if it can back up its hype. There are already several reports that if they keep developing and expanding, especially in their books and movies divisions, they may actually end up coming out on top. The Books section of Google Play not only allows you to download a book, exit out of the app and later return right to the place where you left off, but it also gives you the capability to read off line. Google Movies does not yet have offer the option for you to pause the film after watching it on your computer or phone, but the streaming appears to be very clear in the meantime and if enough people bring this issue to their attention, it’s a pretty safe assumption that it will be resolved.

Aside from these media services, there are also promotions that Google Play will be running over the course of the next several days. One is called, “Play Our Favorites” where there are tons of apps and games available for as low as $0.49. Another is called, “7 Days of Play” where you will be able to get various books, movies and music (in the United States only) for $0.25. There will also be hip-hop, rock and country titles that you can download for $3.99 and some of the editorial team will be announcing some of their favorite movies for $0.99 and apps for $0.49 cents as well.

Whether you’re a fan of Google’s technological advances are not, you’ve got to admit that they’re doing enough to at least peak your interest. It’s a winning bet that they’re thinking that if they just get you to look, before long, you’ll be hooked. The question still remains though: Is Google Play a true competitor for Apple’s App Store? Let us know what you think in the comments!

Editor’s Note

Evan Fischer is a contributing writer for DVD Copycat, a San Francisco media services firm that offers a variety of media duplication and manufacturing services.