Android phones are lovely, however they do suffer a major flaw when compared to their iPhone counterparts – the lack of a well organised App store. There is no real quality control for Android apps meaning everyone can make what they want and stick it up to download, making navigation a nightmare. Click ‘latest apps’ and in most categories you are likely to be confronted with a horde of of applications featuring young well endowed Asian women. There is no official desktop client like iTunes, meaning you have to use a third party service, luckily appbrain is brilliant, to get decent navigation and good reviews of apps. A lot of reviews for paid apps on the Android Market are spam comments advertising pirate app sites. To get the best advice on what apps are worth your time you often have to rely on forum recommendations – not a great way to get the mass market interested. There also seems to be a problem between the app market, Google and phone manufacturers as some apps don’t appear to be available on certain models though the developer says it is compatible. Very messy. The uselessness of the Android Market was compounded this past weekend with the release of Angry Birds.
The game hit early on Friday for free download, but not on the Android Market due to people having problems downloading from there during the initial Beta. Instead the developers released it on a third party website – GetJar – which crumbled under demand. Hardcore fans set up download mirrors and 24 hours it was released onto the Market, but several phones could not access the download, even though the game runs fine on the device. My HTC Legend is listed as being compatible on the GetJar site but there is no sign of the birdies on the official Android Market when I visit on my handset and this is not the first time this has happened with my phone. For ages there was a problem with all camera apps as the Market thought my phone had no camera.
Many developers are also upset over the refund policy on the Android Market. When you purchase an app you get 24 hours to evaluate. If you decide you don’t like the app within those 24 hours, you get a full refund. Not bad when you download a crummy app, but not good for developers who may have made a six hour game, or a guide/map that someone might get use out of, then delete and get their money back.
The Android Market needs an overhaul, and oddly it looks like Amazon might be the ones to do it. They are supposedly opening up an Android storefront, and developers will need to pay $100 to feature on the store and apps will need to go through Quality Control before being available – no doubt stopping the influx of the aforementioned chesty Asians. Many criticise Apple for being heavy handed with their store, but a quick visit to the Android Market shows that perhaps too much choice and freedom has it’s downsides.
Do you use an Android phone? Had any horrors with the Android Market? Leave your comments below!
