RealPlayer removes beta tag and goes Official

When looking around the web for new, interesting or some what crazy news, we sometimes find things that take a little time to comprehend. When we see a few sites reporting that RealPlayer has been launched in the Play Store, we pause and think, “Its been there for a really long time hasn’t it?” I mean heck, it is boasting over 10 million downloads and a 4.4 star ranking from 62,260 people. I bet some of you have seen the headline already today and thought the same thing. There is a back story though. While RealPlayer has been out for quite some time, it has been labeled as a beta app. With their most recent update today that beta tag has been removed, new features added and an in-app purchasable upgrade attached.

In today’s update you can find a few great additions that are part of the primary free download. It is now available in nine languages and offers last.fm scrobbling. Not that big of a deal really, but it adds to the already present voice command search, home screen widgets, setting a favorite song as a ring tone, and sharing on popular social media sites. Check out the full list of features from the standard free download;

RealPlayer Features – available with the free RealPlayer app
• Music, videos and photos all in one place
• Available in nine languages
• Optimized graphics for high-res devices
• Playlists
• lastFM scrobbling
• Voice commands for search
• Control playback when phone is locked
• Sharing on popular social media sites
• Move application to SD card
• Set your favorite song as a ringtone
• Headphones controls
• Auto bookmarking of videos
• Home screen widgets to control media
• Access any file format your device supports

The remainder of the update is dedicated to an in-app upgrade.

Additional Features – available through an in-app upgrade
• Graphic equalizer with ability to save custom settings
• Metadata discovery using the Gracenote database
• Manual metadata editing
• Cross fading for a seamless music experience
• RealAudio and RealVideo (rmvb) support
• No advertisements

Of course they don’t tell you how much the in-app upgrade will set you back until you download the app to find out. Which of course we did, because that is just irritating to us. If you want the additional features you are looking at spending $4.99, just a heads up. the overall experience is pretty clean. The app played all the various file types I had on my device with ease and the UI is plain Jane and simple. Take a look at a few screenshots.

  

“This is the media player that people want,” said Scott Uomoto, SVP Consumer and Helix Divisions of RealNetworks. “It delivers on what RealNetworks does best: helping people simplify, connect to, and enjoy their digital media in the increasingly complex world of mobile media. We drew on the rich heritage of the RealPlayer media platform, which has close to 500 million installs over the last 2.5 years – with 190 million installs alone over the last 12 months – and is one of the most recognized brands in media players worldwide.”

Not bad right? If you are interested in taking the latest version for a spin just click or scan on the QR code below. To snag the additional features you will want to hit Menu from the main page then upgrade. Pretty simple stuff. Let us know what you think of RealPlayer compared to some of the other media apps you currently use.

Application: RealPlayer
Developer: RealNetworks, Inc.
Cost: FREE additional features $4.99

Full press release found at Real.com