
Android to Get Its Own App Market - ryanwaggoner
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/28/android-to-get-its-own-app-market/
======
martythemaniak
Wait, you mean developers will be able to write apps that take full advantage
of the OS through background process and system hooks, then distribute them
without paying for keys or being vetted by a capricious bureaucrat?! AND
they'll give users a choice as to what to do with their own phones?! Quelle
Horreur!

I've always maintained that Apple's iPhone restrictions are bullshit political
decisions and have nothing to do with the protecting users from viruses and
malicious apps. IF Jobs and his defenders are correct, then surely Android
will succumb to horrible attacks, viruses, scamware etc. Well, the handset is
shipping soon, so I definitely look forward to proving (nearly) everyone wrong
:)

~~~
tstegart
What will you do if the carrier won't let you run all these nice programs?

~~~
martythemaniak
Capitalism, dude. Carriers don't control apps on smartphones (BB, WinMo etc)
the way they control apps on feature phones. Were a carrier to do it, it would
place them at a HUGE disadvantage against all other carriers that have Android
devices.

In other words, not gonna happen.

~~~
tstegart
They don't control the apps, but they control their networks. Your theory only
works if money can be made even when these fancy applications are being used.
If a carrier loses money when people start using these apps (for example,
maybe a VIOP app) on their smartphones, there is no incentive to be
competitive. They'll just get rid of you as a customer, and no other carrier
will want you or your smartphone on their network. So getting rid of you would
actually be an advantage.

Now, common public perception is that carriers actually make a ton of money
and that they could allow these apps and still make money (I think this is
true, actually). But that doesn't mean that carrier concerns won't play into
the equation. In all seriousness, Steve Jobs didn't make up those categories
Apple wouldn't allow in the App Store out of thin air, they are all carrier
concerns.

So why would a carrier want to allow massive amounts of Android phones using
massive amounts of data, not paying for big voice plans and slowing down their
network? I think a better reality is that either the carriers will block your
fancy app on their network, or they'll charge you extra for all the data and
whatnot those fancy apps will use. So yes, you can develop a more open app,
but using it is another matter.

~~~
mattmaroon
I don't think carriers will be able to do much about it. They'll be in much
the same position ISPs are in now. They might limit the amount of data you can
use for a given service plan per month. It will be very hard for them to
discriminate between a VOIP app and any other though. We've already seen the
cat and mouse shenanigans that go on with ISPs and now even American Airlines.

The ISPs aren't winning. You cannot stop a bunch of smart, determined people
from doing what they want with an open platform. Developers like the ones who
read this site are just too much.

Regardless, carriers clearly realize that data is the future of their
industry. There is no growth left in voice services. They're moving in that
direction full-force. They want this.

------
qhoxie
I don't understand all the flak about Google copying Apple by opening an app
store. The idea of a central repository for the applications isn't a new one,
and it is hardly unintuitive or creative.

~~~
thomasmallen
No, Apple obviously invented that, as they did the MP3 player. Now please mind
my reality distortion field.

~~~
netcan
And GUI

~~~
thomasmallen
That's "Finder" to you.

------
JeremyChase
It seems like the startup community is overly excited about mobile
development. After I saw TapTapTap release their sales figures I was
unimpressed: [http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/13/appstore-developer-
tapt...](http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/13/appstore-developer-taptaptap-
publishes-sales-figures/)

TapTapTap got 50k in profits in the first month. Granted that seems pretty
good on the surface, but isn't taptaptap one of the biggest sellers?

I don't think the mobile development market is going to be big enough for
everyone that is trying to get into it. I also worry that the Android market
is going to be vastly smaller than the iPhone's.

------
mattmaroon
Ooooooooooooooobviously.

~~~
tdavis
I would have gone with, "Like, well, _duh_."

~~~
maxklein
_I_ on the other hand, would have been like, " _Whatevaaar...._ "

------
redorb
people are scared of this thing having viruses ... because the open source and
free market of the app market... just saying, linux.

