Google publishes Phone and Contacts app, then takes them down

In what appears to be the next obvious move towards quicker Android updates, Google a few hours ago actually published its Phone (dialer) and Contacts app on its Google Play Store. But before you jump for joy, the apps have already been taken down, and for now we have no clue when they will go up again. Also Google seems to have taken the HTC route with its apps only made available for Google’s own Nexus devices as an update. Like with every Google update, there are new features. The Google Phone app finally gets built-in call blocking (that was not available previously) and brand-new UI for business listings that appear in the search field, recognised by the Google Caller ID system. The Phone app also displays nicknames instead of first or last names in case you have assigned one to your contact. Not much has changed with the Contacts app, with the addition of an option to change the default Google account for saving new contacts. While many have been happy that they can now finally download and complete a Nexus-like UI using a third-party launcher on their non-Nexus smartphones (non-rooted), it is clearly not the case.  In fact, as Android Police points out, it is not possible to sideload them on such devices either. Still then, it does make for a faster way to update core Android apps on Nexus devices even though these would be the same ones to get the updates before any other smartphone.