Thanks for the response, you have some good points. I hope you find success in delivering your application to end users. Google is maintaining android operating system and I think "official" is the right term to describe their "Android Market" application. That's why you are not allowed to use Android word in your application name without their permission (See "Android in Official Names" in Brand Guidelines at "Android Official Website"). Therefore I think it's ok to call other alternative applications as unofficial or 3rd party applications.
On Fri, Aug 7, 2009 at 1:47 PM, Mark Murphy <[email protected]> wrote: > > Maan Najjar wrote: > > I've seen more than one unofficial app store for android so far. > > They're not "unofficial". They are independent. > > > Forgive me asking this , but what's the purpose of those unofficial app > > stores ? Isn't Market sufficient for app distribution ? > > 1. Not all Android devices will have Android Market, particularly those > whose manufacturers are simply using the Android open source tree rather > than signing any sort of deal with Google to get proprietary apps like > Android Market. > > 2. Not all users can use Android Market. For example, owners of the ADP1 > cannot obtain copy-protected apps from the Android Market. > > 3. Not all developers can sell via the Android Market, only those in > select locations, in part due to the dependence upon Google Checkout > (see below). > > 4. Android Market's only current payment option is Google Checkout, > which some consumers will not wish to use, or cannot use because they > lack the payment mechanisms (e.g., credit card) that Google Checkout > requires. > > 5. Android Market's terms and conditions may contain terms that > developers are unwilling to accept. > > 6. Android Market takes 30% off the top, plus Google Checkout fees, from > the developer's take, which some developers may prefer to avoid. > > 7. Some carriers and/or device manufacturers may elect to run their own > markets for control purposes, or to capture more revenue (e.g., more > than 30%), or to support other languages, or... > > I am sure there are other reasons as well. > > This is not to say that the Android Market is evil, but rather that > having alternatives and competition among markets is a very healthy thing. > > -- > Mark Murphy (a Commons Guy) > http://commonsware.com | http://twitter.com/commonsguy > > Android App Developer Books: http://commonsware.com/books.html > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Discuss" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-discuss?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
