Hasta La Gadget!

Our biggest complaint about the variety of Archos tablets? The lack of the Android Market, of course. But while you’ve been able to sideload the Market apk on lots of these devices, there were apparently compatibility issues with Archos’ new Android 2.1 / 2.2 tablets (like the Archos 32 we reviewed just a few weeks). But fear not: ArchosFans to the rescue! A forum member successfully complied a new gApps4Archos.apk that can be easily sideloaded, and installed to give you access to all that Google app and Marketplace goodness. Obviously, we whipped out our 32 and tried it out ourselves. We did have a few issues at first — you must have the latest 1.0.70 firmware and we had to reboot a few times to successfully connect to Google’s servers — but we were finally able to log into our Gmail and download Pandora. If you’re adventurous enough to try it out for yourself, we’d suggest hitting the source link and getting to it. Oh, and feel free to let us know how it goes in the comments.

New Archos tablets get Android Market hack, works as promised originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 12:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Liliputing, Armdevices.net  |  Archosfans  | Email this | Comments

Amazon seems ready to get into the app-store business with plans to launch a new Android app store.

The company has reportedly sent welcome kits to some developers to entice them to start signing on to the store, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal and Engadget.

With its plans to offer an Android app store, Amazon may be hoping to take on the Google Market, currently the app store of choice on most Android devices. Exploding sales of Android smartphones and the introduction of new Android-based tablets hungry for apps may have caught Amazon’s attention and had it clamoring for a piece of the action.

Amazon has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Smartphones running Android OS were more popular than iPhones among new U.S. buyers in August, according to a report from the Nielsen Company.

Currently, Google’s Android market has about 90,000 apps, compared to Apple’s App Store with 250,000 apps.

Upstart, independent challengers such as AndSpot and SlideMe are slready trying to create their own Android app stores. It’s all kosher because, unlike Apple, Google allows for multiple app stores to exist on the Android operating system. These independent app stores hope to lure users with the promise of better search and user interface, greater availability internationally and increased revenue.

Amazon may be betting on something similar, and it certainly has the clout and the brand to be more popular than the upstarts. But winning over developers may not be easy.

“From the developer perspective, its trial-and-error to see how effective they really are. A lot of these app stores — whether from Verizon now or Amazon in the future — are yet to prove themselves,” says Paul Chen, director of business development at Papaya Mobile, an Android games developer.

Still Chen says his company is open and willing to embrace any distribution channel that could increase the visibility of its apps.

Though Amazon has been extremely tight-lipped, here’s everything we know so far — based on the leaks — about Amazon’s plans:

Look and Feel

Amazon’s app store is likely to be a lot like Apple’s: carefully curated and targeted at consumers who are tired of the chaos in the Google Android Market. Spam, poor quality of apps, and the inability to easily find apps are major problems in the Android Market. But what Amazon’s app store will be called, look like, or the kind of features it will have are all still under wraps.

For consumers, it will be exciting if Amazon can bring features such as recommendations, wish lists and deals to its app store.

Cost, Control and Availability

Developers will reportedly have to pay $100 to sign up — just as they do with the Apple app store.

Unlike the current Google Android Market, where any developers can publish apps as long as it follows the company’s guidelines, Amazon will decide what will get into its store, according to a report in TechCrunch.

Apps can either be free or paid. Paid apps will have to be competitively priced. That means developers can’t charge more for the same app on the Amazon app store than in other markets.

Amazon’s app store will likely be available only in the United States, though it won’t be long before Amazon extends it to other countries. After all, Amazon has all the necessary payment systems in place to make this happen, even as Google Checkout remains limited.

Support and Distribution

This is where things get confusing. It is not clear which Android devices Amazon’s app store will support or how it will be distributed. Google’s Android Market comes preloaded on all Android smartphones. But Amazon will have to ink deals with device makers to get its app store in there.

We’ll also have to see if Amazon’s Android app store and Google Market will coexist on a device. If they do so, it could cause consumer confusion and give rise to app store fragmentation.

Also, with the availability of tablets and hardware boxes running Google TV, which is based on the Android platform, it will be interesting to see whether Amazon limits its app store to just smartphones or if it is willing to go where Google fears to tread.

See Also:

• Amazon Shows Off Kindle for iPad
• Amazon Sells More E-Books Than Hardcovers
• Social Networking Meets Apps in New Android App Store
• Independent App Stores Take On Google’s Android Market

Photo: (astanush/Flickr)

Amazon’s always worked hard to make sure it’s in the digital goods business as well as its obviously successful physical one, but this might be one of its boldest steps yet: another app store for Android. We heard the rumor a couple weeks ago through TechCrunch, and The Wall Street Journal is now claiming to have proof, including an Amazon document explaining some of the terms to the developers. It’s apparently still unclear when the store will be launched or even what it’ll be called, and since so far it seems like Amazon is mainly talking to developers about this behind closed doors, some of the specifics might still be in the air. According to the WSJ, Amazon stipulates an app can’t be sold for less anywhere else (which was hinted at in the earlier leak), and there’s a stranger requirement that the app can’t be on offer anywhere else for more than two weeks before it’s given to Amazon. We’re guessing that’s an Android only stipulation — or else a bit of a high barrier for iOS ports — but that just brings up more to worry about: is Amazon building a store just a first in an onslaught? And is this indeed part of an Android tablet launch for Amazon?

Amazon app store for Android confirmed by WSJ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Oct 2010 17:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  The Wall Street Journal  | Email this | Comments

Android may be climbing the charts when it comes to market share, and the Market may be quickly approaching the 100,000 apps mark, but the whole thing is hardly a global proposition. As of earlier this week, paid apps were able to be purchased in just 14 countries, submitted by developers of just nine nationalities. That changes now, with Google adding 20 countries to its list of approved submitters, meaning developers living in 29 nations are eligible to submit paid apps to the Market. Over the next two weeks the purchasing of those apps will be flipped on for users in 18 countries, 32 in all that will have the “buy” button enabled — music to the ears of Java app developers everywhere. Which flags are newly embracing app capitalism? We have the lists waiting for you below.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Google expands Android’s reach, accepting paid apps from 20 more countries, selling to 18 more

Google expands Android’s reach, accepting paid apps from 20 more countries, selling to 18 more originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 08:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Android Developers Blog  | Email this | Comments

DigiTimes reports can be shaky at the best of times, but this one takes the digi-biscuit. Reporting on an apparent order by HTC with Pegatron for the production of a new Android-based “tablet PC,” DigiTimes claims the new development will help Pegatron achieve its goal of being one of the top four global notebook manufacturers. So is this a tablet or, dare we say it, a smartbook? Nobody clarifies that point, but specs are said to include a 1280 x 720 widescreen display, a 32GB SSD, 2GB of RAM, and Tegra 2 under the hood. Android Market support is also expected (huzzah!), though pricing might be steep at around $790 unsubsidized. At this stage, we’d be more surprised if HTC doesn’t bring out a tablet in the next few months, but we wouldn’t invest too much of our emotions into this report just yet. Maybe once Mr. Blurrycam decides to join the fray and give us something to look at.

HTC said to have placed production order with Pegatron for mythical ‘tablet PC’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 09:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  DigiTimes  | Email this | Comments