Uncategorized

[Update] In-App Purchases Now Possible in Android Market

12

Just last week, Google was talking about how unsatisfied they are with the Android market and developers’ inability to make money the way they want and need to. If you haven’t already heard, the Android market has gotten its long-awaited web-enabled counterpart, but Google was also working on the very thing that haunted their nightmares.

Today, they’ve announced that a new SDK specifically for in-app content purchases is available for developers who use micro-transactions as a means of generating revenue. The obvious will all be possible: downloadable game levels, virtual currency, and unlocking certain features or premium versions of a game or app will all be possible without the advent of a third-party solution.

It’s just one of the many things Google’s doing to not only pull more developers to Android, but to also keep them here. With this, the cloud-centric Android market, and Honeycomb, I can’t see how any one developer isn’t excited for Android’s future, on phones, tablets, or otherwise. Look for this one to come just before Q2 arrives.

[Update]: And per this post on Google’s official Android Developers blog, developers will soon be able to set pricing for different currencies and regions. An app could be 3 pounds in the UK, and a developer could explicitly set it at $3 for those in the United States – awesome. More details can be found here.

Quentyn Kennemer
The "Google Phone" sounded too awesome to pass up, so I bought a G1. The rest is history. And yes, I know my name isn't Wilson.

New Android Market Webstore LIVE Now

Previous article

Official: Android Market Changes Detailed

Next article

You may also like

12 Comments

  1. they should have added paypal support instead :( i dont recall that devs main problem was implementing in-app purchases. The main problem is that many out there are asking for paypal since they dont own credit cards

  2. Your last sentence doesn’t make sense Maj. If you have a paypal account, you more than likely have a debit/visa (or m/c) card. You have to have a checking account to set up a Paypal account and I don’t know too many people (none actually) with checking accounts that don’t have a visa/debit card.
    I think the main issue should be the security issues using your credit or debit card over your cell phone.

  3. I disagree. That doesn’t hurt anyone from buying from Apple’s app store, and I don’t think it does/will from Android either.

  4. @ToastnJam
    i have a credit card and google checkout account and i can buy paid apps thanks to Market Enabler, it’s just people on the net whine about google checkout and all of them are asking for paypal since (according to what i read) you can link it to your bank account and not necessarily to your credit card and Credit Cards in Europe are not widely as spread as in the U.S

  5. Great, so devs can rip us off in the UK with regional pricing by setting it to be 1:1 $:£ rate and forget the real exchange rate just like everyone else does.

  6. Agreed with ilh, not awesome.

    Things are already unfair on people outside the US in that (in most cases) banks will charge a fee to pay in another currency. Despite Google displaying a ~£ figure, you still pay in $, and so pay extra. PayPal support (or just Google billing locally, they’re a big enough company) would avoid this entirely.

    With regards to the regional pricing, it costs no more for a developer to sell an app in another country, so why let them charge totally different amounts? It’s nonsense.

  7. $3 does not makes £3, This could go very well or very badly. Devs should keep xe.com as their second best friend

  8. > $3 does not makes £3, This could go very well or very
    > badly. Devs should keep xe.com as their second best
    > friend

    Where does it say $3 = £3?

  9. “An app could be 3 pounds in the UK, and a developer could explicitly set it at $3 for those in the United States – awesome.”

    AWESOME?
    Yeah thanks. Now developer can rip off people because they live in the “wrong” country.

  10. I agree. Fuck british people.

  11. When in doubt, copy Apple….same old story

  12. Finally developers wont have to have two versions of there app in the android market. That way if you beat some levels or enter a bunch of data you can upgrade to premium without having to lose what you have already done.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *