Android Marketplace

We heard the news today that paid apps in Android market place have been extended to 18 new countries. Could “Carrier Billing” (Allowing your service operator to add the apps’ price to your cellphone bill) be the reason behind it? I think so. It was long suggested that Google Checkout and corresponding legal issues in using it across various countries was the reason behind the paid apps not being available in those countries. [Read More]

Just got a mail from Google that paid apps are being made available in India. HOORAY!!! In addition, developers from 20 more countries can sell apps on market (Unfortunately, no India in this list) and people from 18 more countries can buy paid apps. This is a big thing because now 32 countries out of 44 where Android has footprint can buy paid apps. This should take away one of the biggest drawbacks that Android marketplace was facing. [Read More]

There has been a spate of security reports recently about Android apps being malware or suspicious. Most of these were found baseless but at least one was indeed correct (e.g. The Russian Trojan app). We also know that Android has a very good security model but even then, the rest of the reports also makes one think and focus on why an apps requires the permissions that it states it needs? [Read More]

Many Android Developers (and users) get confused that why a certain app isn’t showing up on the new Xperia X10 Mini (and few other) phones. This happens even if they support all android versions and have published their apps for all countries, so that shouldn’t be the issue. I came across this as well when few people mentioned that they couldn’t find my app Wi-Fi Keep Alive in the X10 mini marketplace. [Read More]