16
Mar
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Californians Seek Damages Over Faulty Apps, Play Store's 15-Minute Return Window

Posted by in Android OS, Applications, Legal, News

Seeking damages for California residents who have purchased defective Android apps and were disallowed a refund, Android users Dodd Harris and Stephen Sabatino are suing Google under the pretext that the search giant's 15-minute refund window is unfair.

The pair claim that Google's pocketing of a 30% commission on defective apps and denying a refund after 15 minutes is wrong, using the practices of other app stores (those run by Amazon and Apple) to illustrate their point. This may not be the best comparison, however, as Apple's store has a "vetting process," meaning not all sellers are allowed to provide their wares to the public, whereas Google's Play Store is an open market.

27
Jun
20110224233315!Android_Market

Google's 15-Minute App Return Window Unlawful In Taiwan, Google Pulls Paid Apps In Response

Posted by in Android OS, Apps/Games, News

Well, this is an interesting turn of events for the Android Market's universally-despised 15-minute app return window. According to the Taipei Times, the Taipei City Government was recently alerted to Google's Android Market return policies - policies that violate Taiwanese consumer protection laws requiring any product bought over the internet to have at least a 7-day "trial period."

Earlier this month, the Taiwanese government gave Google a 15-day ultimatum to revise its app return policies to include the mandatory 7-day trial period, but Google refused to comply. Faced with a $1 million fine for non-compliance, Google, after negotiations with the government broke down, decided yesterday to remove all access to paid apps for Android devices in Taiwan.

11
May
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[I/O 2011] Roundup Of The Exciting New Android Market Announcements

Posted by in Android OS, News

  • The International market is taking over - U.S. 70% majority in 2010, but now international is 60% in 2011

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  • The new Market dashboard for developers will now let them view and exclude any of the 300+ Android devices, per app
  • Starting in June, a new format called Multi-APK will be launched to bundle multiple APKs into one package

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  • Starting June 2011, individual app size is increasing from 50MB to up to 4GB. Hello, giant games
  • Android app sales reports are now backfilled to last year, rather than just last month
  • Starting today, the Android Market will have new lists - Trending, Top New Paid, Top New Free, and Top Grossing (<30 days)
  • These are now is now live at https://market.android.com/
  • The lists will be regionalized per country

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  • 2 new lists - Users Also Viewed...