Paid apps appear in Android Market
Looks like Google is officially in the mobile app store game -- Android Market now contains paid apps. We haven't gotten the update on our G1 yet, but if you have RC33 it's rolling out now -- reboot and let us know what your first purchase is!


















Sorry, hate to be a troll, but a CLOCK APP?! FOR $1.00?!?! WHAAT?!
I thought this was going to be great; a better App Store, but instead its MORE silly apps (in terms of silliness, bot amount of them) for a dollar..
.../rant
I don't find that trolling at all man. I mean true, developers deserve to be paid for their work. But a clock? Meh. I mean, and this isn't to troll... but WinMo guys get to enjoy stuff like S2U2 for free, because the developers just want to make a good app that people love and will use.
That said.. I've sent a good $100 to SPB because I LOVE and couldn't live without their software, so I'm not bashing paid apps. But a clock.. I'd have a hard time justifying even a dollar for that.
It's not just a clock, it's an Aviator Watch....with the stress in Aviator, worth every penny! Now you can put it side by side with that Google clock, below the digital clock... geeeez
I agree that with the Android Market's loose restriction policy there will definitely be many silly apps. But I like the Market because it's open. If you want to (waste) your money on a $1 clock then so be it. The Market allows you to choose what you want...so if you see a stupid application that isn't worth what the developer is charging you can just ignore it.
I would rather have the almost no-restriction Market with a couple of great apps that can't be found on any other platform because they "compete" with apps already on the system than to have a tightly regulated App Store where there isn't a chance that great competing apps will get in.
The Market's free philosophy and the openness of Android for programs to access whatever parts of the system they want is a great sacrifice for seeing a few stupid apps.
"I don't find that trolling at all man."
I hide under my bed from the troll-caller-outers
Either that or I fear getting called out for "trolling".
I have a G1... I agree all the apps on here are stupid.. i wish there was a online app store on which i can choose on my computer.. dear god someone make this..
Id never pay for a clock ever..
and i dont have this update even though i have rc33. lol
I wouldn't call the market "open", its actually a gateway and Google controls it.
I still like WinMo's approach better, you just download and run a cab, same as an exe on PC
John... they have that on android, in addition to the Market. You can just download an .apk and it's the same thing. Also, you can set up your own Market I believe, so there may be all sorts of alternate markets cropping up. Ya never know!
Guess what? You don't have to buy it. In fact, if it's not any good, no one will buy it. Good apps will prosper, bad apps won't.
Handango.com already looks like it has some sweet apps for the G1. I haven't tried them out yet, but it looks like a good start
It's not a clock app, it's an AVIATOR WATCH !!
Ian Shumacher's gonna be pissed if he reads this.
Yeah, really. When do we get useful stuff like gFart?!
I was going to make the same comment, only about the unit conversion app. This is preposterous. Anyone with the slightest knowloedge of Java (or almost any other language) can make that in a matter of hours (or minutes, depending on how good you are).
Sounds like some college kid wanted to make a few bucks on the swift.
I don't see it as trolling. These apps look really weak. .99 cents sounds like a good price for a unit converter until you consider that WinMo has a great converter called MSS Converter and a bunch of other great freeware (freeware pocket pc, google it) that offer the same services. I expectd better from Android.
The dollar for animal sounds is totally worth it.......
Android is quickly bypassing WinMo, iPhone, Symbian, WebOS..
/looks at his HTC Touch and sighs.
Don't sigh too hard man.. an Android port for the Touch inches closer to greatness every day! Gotta love xda and ppcG!
Those are some big-ass tabs.
the bigger, the more finger friendly ;)
Oh, man. I'm not even sure where to begin with you two.
Those are some big ass-tabs.
Haha, xkcd FTW!
dude for these prices, ill write up my own apps. i thought we would get some awesome, useful, at least legit apps, for a few bucks. but nothing yet:( this is the main reason i held onto my g1... memoir here i come:)
Really? All that hate over the first few hours the apps have been out? Patiennce man it will get better.
Wow. Wait at least two months and rethink that statement. I feel that by then we will have a lot of amazing apps.
Have some patience, you can't exactly expect all the big developers to go to the market on the first day. Funny how most G1 users seem to be the most impatient people ever judging by the Android Community forums.
It'll take some time for quality apps to get on the Market. Remember the install base is still quite low right now for Android since there is only a one limited release phone out right now: the G1. As more phones get on the market the situation should change. 2009 is the year when most of these phones are coming out.
i mean, developers have known paid apps were coming... its really not that impatient to expect good apps when the payment ability surfaces... given, not within the first few hrs... but i was really hoping that we'd get some high quality apps. im not giving up... but seriously, its makes it hard for you to even find good apps with all the crap apps out there
I've had RC33 since the 5th of February. I rebooted my phone and so far there's nothing new. :(
Same here. I have RC33 and don't see a thing.
Same deal... Long Island New york here is that matters... i am just curious to see wats there... but dosent sound like much
update all of your apps and then check the store by date, i didnt have any of the paid apps until i updated the ones that i was to lazy to prior
How about those icons? If the care going into the app design is anything like the care that went into making those icons, those apps are going to blow. The iPhone App Store just got better today.
I have the G1, but I completely agree with you. I wish they would have a standard as to how the icons should look.
The Weather Channel is just a big ugly square that looks horrible on the home screen. That's why I got the AccuWeather app instead, it looks cool.
But yeah, I hope the icons get better looking.
agreed. i think that's one reason why the Pre is so hyped. it just looks sexier. And look at the Walk It Lite icon. it's all jagged. I know the utilitarian types will poo poo this but from a business standpoint the look of the Android OS and the Icons don't help make it automatically appealling. I don't own an iphone but i will say part of it's appeal is that it's a pretty polished product to look at. The Pre is headed that way too. Damn you sprint. Really thinkit would go a long way to promote this OS if they cleaned up some of the edges that make it more like linux (that is not as slick) and less like Apple. I use apple as an analogy of a "slick" interface not to be a moron fanboy nor to dis linux. in fact all my machines are windows. That said i can recognize successful products and some of it's attributes.
Judge
Book
Cover
Apple
If all of your machines are Windows, what makes you think you know how non-slick Linux is? It's come a loooong way, friend.
I've still used it and it's not exactly the commercial eye candy product that you need to have a consumer product to have large mass appeal. And all these phone OS's want to be the big dog. Right now that's MS and apple's OS. Sorry they are slicker. And it works selling products.
If a crappy icon design repels you from buying a particular application, than won't that encourage developers to create more appealing icons?
You know... market forces, competition, capitalism and all that...
lmao... lol yea I love android but looking at those pics ... yes they can use an upgrade
Interesting, I have (rooted) RC33 on my G1 and I don't see any paid apps... Yet?
My first purchase was "Flashlight" for $15.. I thought it said "Fleshlight.
well done sir
Fleshlight for $15, no way, I paid like $50 for......oh wait, never mind.....
They block other browsers cause they compete with Apples.
Hopefully Google can keep the crap/good app ratio lower than Apples app store.
Then again, that shouldnt be a difficult thing to do.
So you are saying you think this will be LESS inclusive than Apple's app store? That goes against the grain.
I think that with the Market we will have a ton of crap applications but also many GREAT applications.
I guess I think (unfortuantely) that we will have a TON of crappy apps : a few of GREAT apps.
No, not at all. The thing with Apple is that they allow some of the worst applications while not allowing applications that are great but step on their tows a bit. As long as Google allows applications that Apple would normally decline, its ratio would already be better for google. Thats all i meant.
Thats some wishful thinking...The App Store may decline some apps such as Web Browsers not based on WebKit and well I'm not sure what else they are blocking since they now have allowed Podcaster in. The difference is to develop for iPhone you have to pay a fee, so random people are more hesitant to take the risk, even though it is small.
Android however, can be developed on for free, so any average joe can develop a crap app, say gFart, and stick it on the market. That means there is more than likely going to be a lot more crap than good software unfortunately.