I get the idea. Android Market is essentially Google's iTunes now, and they want to push the music/movies aspect. Google Play makes more sense than iTunes branding does (tunes are about 1/8 of what it does these days), but there is some weirdness. Play works well for music/movies/games, but not really for apps/books. I was introduced to the brand with an update to Google Books app saying it was now Google Play Books, which made me think Google was expanding into sports team management or something.
ugh, I hope they stick with an overloaded "Google Play" (like the overloaded "iTunes") rather than specifying "google play books".
First, because everyone will be fine with that in a month and know that multiple types of media are in there and second, because it's only a short hop from there to "Windows Live Home Mobile Live" or "Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch"
No name will ever be ideal for every scenario. It always has pros and cons. But statistically, most people looking for apps are looking for games. So this name is better for the majority of the cases. So I'd guess the pros outweigh the cons.
It was 100% legit (albeit momentary) confusion as I just happened to see the Google Books update with a completely new icon and name alone on the My Apps page before I heard the news elsewhere. A few minutes later I also got the update for Google Music and I looked into it. Besides the weird "play book/apps" convention, I actually think this a pretty smart branding move for Google overall.
