Attendees Eclair 2.1, Android Market, app store, shutdown
[Representational Image] Google shuts out-dated Android Market apps store and will shift focus completely to Google Play store. In Picture: Android phones put on displayREUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage

Search engine giant Google will soon pull the plug on the company's first app store Android Market thus ending support for smartphones running Android 2.1 or lesser version.

Google's Android Developer Team has confirmed that Android Market, the predecessor of Google Play, will be taken off the grid on June 30. If anybody is still using the 2009-series Eclair 2.1 or older OS on their device, it will just stop working and there will be no notification on the devices about the shutdown.

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The primary reason for the discontinuation of Android Market is due to technical restrictions of the apps and also the lack of developer support.

"We will still be supporting later versions of Android Market for as long as feasible. Google Play, the replacement for Android Market, is available on Android 2.2 and above," Maximilian Ruppaner, a software engineer on Google Play said in a statement.

Android, Dashboard, Android version distribution
Android distribution numbers from Google.developer.android.com

There are no details on how many are using Android v2.1 (or older); even the Google's Android dashboard no longer mentions it as the company only shares data on OS' having 0.1 or more percent active devices in the market. But, considering the fact that there are more a billion live Android devices in the world, even a small percent, for instance, 0.05, too, makes up for thousands of devices.

Having said that, it is about time for the old timers, to move on to newer phones having the latest OS. And it won't be long before Google Play, too, makes way for the newer version in the coming years.

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