eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
Google’s Play store is continuing its Cyber Weekend sale that started on Black Friday and turning it into a Cyber Monday sale with special offers and pricing on the latest Nexus 7, Chromecast TV dongles, best-selling ebooks and more.
“Take advantage of our limited-time deals on books, games, movies, music, magazines and more as we kick off the holiday season,” the Google Play team wrote in a post that hypes the sale. One of the biggest deals during the sale is that Nexus 7 tablet buyers can get a $25 Google Play credit with their purchase while Chromecast buyers can receive a $6 movie rental credit with the purchase of a $35 Chromecast TV dongle during the sale. A 16GB Nexus 7 sells for $229, while a 32GB model sells for $269. Both include free shipping. The Chromecast free movie credit will be will be emailed to the purchaser when his or her Chromecast unit ships.
The Google Play ebook sale is particularly thrifty for shoppers, with discounts of up to 75 percent. That means that “The Hunger Games Trilogy” by Suzanne Collins is on sale for $12.99, a huge savings over its regular $48.97 ebook price.
The novel “The Hit,” by David Baldacci, is on sale for $2.49, from its regular $9.99 price, while Dan Brown’s “Inferno: A Novel” is on sale for $3.99, down from its regular $12.99 price.
The novel “Ender’s Game,” written by Orson Scott Card, is on sale for $1.99, compared with its normal price of $7.99. The “Fifty Shades Trilogy Bundle: Fifty Shades of Grey; Fifty Shades Darker; Fifty Shades Freed” by E.L. James, is also on sale—for $7.49, a 75 percent savings from its regular $29.99 price.
Music lovers can also find special deals with albums on sale for $1.99 to $4.99, discounted from regular prices of $6.99 to $9.99.
DC Comics fans can find special one-day deals today only on many e-issues. “Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52)” is on sale for $3.82, compared with its regular price of $4.99. Other issues featuring the same sale pricing include “Justice League Vol. 1: Origin (The New 52),” “Animal Man Vol. 1: The Hunt (The New 52),” “Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1: Faces of Death (The New 52)” and “Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Blood (The New 52).”
In April, the Google Play store added new capabilities to allow app developers to better showcase their new apps when consumers search for them using their mobile devices in the store. App developers can now upload screen shots of their apps running on 7-inch and 10-inch tablets so consumers can see what those apps will look like on their similar devices, which Google and the developers hope will continue to spur even more sales of innovative and useful apps in the store.
Google Play, which was created in March 2012 to combine what until then were separate sites where Android lovers could buy their favorite apps, music and ebooks, has been a huge hit. Before Google Play, users had to shop through the individual Android Market, Google Music and Google e-Bookstore sites.