Listen, the relatively popular, if neglected, podcast app from Google has been surreptitiously pulled from the Play Store recently. It's unclear just how long ago Google pulled it (though it appears to be within the last week or so), and users are looking everywhere for it. There is also no indication on what Google has planned for it from here on out. We've reached out to Google for comment but have not heard back as of publication. For users who have previously installed the app, you can still find the Play Store listing here. Everyone else, however, will see the familiar 404 landing page:
We launched Google Listen through Google Labs in August 2009, to give people a way to discover and listen to podcasts. However, with Google Play, people now have access to a wider variety of podcast apps, so we’ve discontinued Listen. People who have already installed the app can still use it, but after November 1, podcast search won’t function. You can access your podcast subscriptions in Google Reader in the “Listen Subscriptions” folder and download them from the Import/Export tab.
So there you have it - Listen is dead, and it isn't coming back. Not even as Zombie Listen.
If you've previously downloaded the app, you should still be able to install it to any of your devices via the Play Store listing page. It does not seem to appear on the devices themselves, even when the Play Store page lists that they are compatible. However, if you really want to hang on to it, make a backup of the apk ASAP. There's no telling how long this page will last.
Hopefully we'll see Google integrate Listen more closely with the Google Play. Built-in podcast functionality as part of Play Music, as well as perhaps listing pages for podcasts in the Play Store would be really, really nice (and if it happens, you can bet we'll be there). In the meantime, though, it's the waiting game for us until we hear from Google. Considering that the last time that Listen was updated was back in January of this year, though, it might be a while before Google decides to address it.
Source: Play Store
Thanks, Cody!