There were 2 very important announcements made last week at the Android Development Blog with regards to Carrier Billing and Licensing Service for Applications.
Both of these announcements have widespread repercussions to Paid Android Apps and the Android Market in general.
The links to the announcements are as below:
1) Licensing Service For Android Applications
2) Adjustment to Market Legals
Licensing Service For Android Applications
While it's easy to criticize Apple for its stringent App Store approval process and how it stifles creativity, the upside to that is that we can be assured of a high level of security for the apps that we can find in the App Store.
Android, on the other hand, has been facing issues due to its application approval process, its openness to side-loaded apps - installing apps via APK files that was downloaded ad installed via other sources other than the Android Market, and allowing users "root" access to the platform (or jailbreaking in iPhone terminology).
The importance of apps and their availability cannot be underestimated. Imagine the iPhone without its App Store. Sure, it can still support web browsing, play your favourite music and watch the occasional Youtube video. However, the usefulness of iPhone will be severely crippled without the apps from its App Store. The same goes for the Android platform. In the mobile domain, the platform with the widest variety or most popular apps can exert a huge amount of influence on users' perceptions and ultimate decision to purchase a smartphone. It's therefore in the best interests of both Google and the App developers to provide a robust and secure method for protecting paid Market content, to ensure that developers get paid and thus continue to support development on Android.
This is where Google's new licensing service comes in. This new mechanism runs in real-time, with a server receiving requests to verify that an app was legitimately purchased through the Android Market. This licensing service is available now and developers are highly encourage to check out the Licensing Your Applications section of the Android Developer Guide. Joining the new copy-protection program is free.
Some disadvantages of this new licensing service:
- It will not be able to retroactively verify the premium apps already in the Android Market.
- There is also a valid concern on how this will affect user experience in the usage of the applications as the verification of the authenticity of the user might cause significant delay, especially in offline/patchy network situations.
However, it is of my personal opinion that this initiative is an important AND necessary first step in improving the quality and quantity of the Android apps currently available in the Android Market at the moment.
