I went through my Heros settings and found that in "menu>settings>applications" theres a check-box named "unknown sources" which while checked allows install of non-Market applications.
Why is there such a setting? Since Android OS is open-sourced, isn't the whole point that everybody should be able to upload apps to the Marketplace without Google having to accept them first? If it is like that, why wouldn't all apps be on the market place?
The only reason i see for this is so that you would be able to install apps that Google wont allow, but if they don't allow the app, why would they have a setting so you can install it?
Please tell my why there is such a setting.
Thank you /nofowuw
my only guess is that that setting is equivalent to a Release of Liability form. Any damage caused by apps installed from external sources, not on the Market where it can be rated and commented upon (maybe filtered too?) cannot thus be blamed on Google?
nofowuw said:
Why is there such a setting? Since Android OS is open-sourced, isn't the whole point that everybody should be able to upload apps to the Marketplace without Google having to accept them first? If it is like that, why wouldn't all apps be on the market place?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fact that Android is open source has absolutely *nothing* to do with the Market. There are many reasons why a developer might not want to put their apps on the Market - a core consideration might be that they want to sell their apps, but paid apps are not available in their region, so perhaps they want to use a different distribution method.
Similarly, in some regions, Android phones do not ship with the Market app at all, presumably because Google charge a licence to ship their closed source apps.
Regards,
Dve
google does not check the apps in the market. every app comes to the market, but there is the self-controlling mechanism: if several users complain about an app (and rate it bad) it will be taken out of the market. also you wouldn't install an app that has 1 star and several warnings in the comments. this way you can be pretty (not 100%) sure that the app from the market won't harm your phone. last but not least through the market it can be tracked down to the dev who created the app.
now if you download an app or someone sends it to you all that is gone. no user ratings, no comments, no dev. this is why you have to check that box when you want to install apps from other sources...
ohh, ok... umm.
So how do you install these applications? Just put the application-file on the SD and the phone does the rest? Is there any community that host a library of apps to download?
Since i live in a non-full market region and cant buy apps, i guess this can be usefull for me
Related
Is there a way to buy apps from android market from a country that is not listed on google's supported countries list without rooting the phone? Maybe an alternative market or something like that?
yes, I would suggest you purchase it through your pc and then push it to your phone to install.
You can use the search button to find apps on different sites.
You should be aware that apps bought that are from different sites that are not google approved may not work or cause damage to your phone.
Do not worry about apks found on other sites than Google's official ones. If the application is listed in market you should only check that you are really installing the app you want, not something with a fake name. Also check permissions (should be the same as market app). So the good sense before pushing the install button is the only thing you need. Also I recomend Bitdefender security app which is cloud based and has an on install scanner. It is very effective and does not drain your resources.
Hello everyone,
I just got a Nook Tablet I have never had any smart phone or tablet before, and I have never purchased an app. My question is about DRM on apps.
If I buy an app from the B&N store, will I only be able to use it on my Nook Tablet? For example, if I get an Android phone in the future, will I be able to use my Nook Tablet apps on it?
I know that there are other marketplaces such as the Android marketplace and the Amazon app store. Are there similar issues with those as well?
Where is the best place to buy an app to ensure I won't have to buy it a second time?
fr3dw0rth said:
Hello everyone,
I just got a Nook Tablet I have never had any smart phone or tablet before, and I have never purchased an app. My question is about DRM on apps.
If I buy an app from the B&N store, will I only be able to use it on my Nook Tablet? For example, if I get an Android phone in the future, will I be able to use my Nook Tablet apps on it?
I know that there are other marketplaces such as the Android marketplace and the Amazon app store. Are there similar issues with those as well?
Where is the best place to buy an app to ensure I won't have to buy it a second time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buy from the google market if you want to use it in the future for android phone/tablet.
Does that mean that if I buy from the Google market, I can copy the app to a new device and install it again? Would the new device also have to have the Google market installed?
What it is about buying an app from B&N that would restrict me from transferring and installing my app on a new device?
* bump *
fr3dw0rth said:
Does that mean that if I buy from the Google market, I can copy the app to a new device and install it again? Would the new device also have to have the Google market installed?
What it is about buying an app from B&N that would restrict me from transferring and installing my app on a new device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can copy it and install it anywhere regardless where you buy the app - manually copy it or use a backup program like Titanium backup. If you want to tie the program to the market, so you can get updates for it, you can redownload it from the android market, or use a program to tie it to the market so it recognizes it (but your account will have to have purchased the program if it's not a free one).
The android market is tied to devices - you cannot use it without a device registered to the account, which is different than the other markets/stores where an account is enough (currently). There is no issue installing the Amazon market, the B&N Market, etc on different devices and regrabbing programs. (But the external B&N market app doesn't run on nook tablets, only odd part.) Since the android market is by far the biggest one, it's probably the best place to buy things, but no you shouldnt' have issues with the other markets and transferring stuff around.
Anything you purchase through Google Market or Amazon App Store can be used and downloaded on any device as long as you use the same account (gmail for google, login for Amazon). I have three devices that all share the same apps. When you login to either for the first time, it will list all your purchased apps under "my apps" and you can download directly from there. I have no experience with the B&N market yet.
I keep a second family gmail account and make purchases through that on Google market so my family can all share the same purchased apps and our own seperate gmail accounts for email, calendar, etc.
There's no definitive answer, since a) it depends on the vendor's permission, b) the "app store" scheme is still in a state of flux, both conceptually and in implementation.
In theory, whatever "app store" you buy an app from will allow authorization for any devices linked to that store. Since Google's uses Gmail, then any device linked to a particular Gmail acct should be authorized.
Presently, buying from Google allows the widest reach, assuming all your devices are linked to Gmail. Buying from B&N, in theory, would allow any B&N-linked devices (NC and NT for now) to be authorized. Ditto for Amazon's.
This is a problem, assuming you buy apps from different app stores. This will be addressed over time, by user demands of vendors to establish a commonal authorization system. Realize that we're still in the beta testing stage, not only of mobile devices and OS'es, but also their ecosystems.
Over time, one'd expect more vendors to eschew "per user" for a more granular "per device" or "per X devices." For one, it avoids the abuse of having a "communal" Gmail account--mentioned in the previous post--to share between different users. Since the latter requires additional infrastructural work, you only see this from a few large, established vendors for now. But all vendors are loathe to let a third-party control their vendor-client relationship, and will have their own proprietary authorization at some point.
Hello
I know that I must wear a condom while surfing the net and installing apps to keep safe but is Google.Play the only safe place to visit for Android Apps?
Or are there other good, and safe places to download free and paid for apps?
I only ask as an app I bought from the Android Market, which changed to Google.Play is no longer on the site. However the app can be found in a place called AndroidPit. I can't find any reviews of this site and I don't know if I can trust them with my credit card details.
google play is the safest and cant tell about other "unofficial" alternatives,
but to browse apps appbrain is good but when you want to download something it forwards you to google play.. there is some plugin for appbrain which enables web download but i never tried it cause i m happy with google play
1mobile.com is a decent site, you can download the vast majority of free apps. Doesn't have any paid apps though. If you're in the US, Amazon App Store is probably a reasonable alternative.
the lemming said:
Hello
I know that I must wear a condom while surfing the net and installing apps to keep safe but is Google.Play the only safe place to visit for Android Apps?
Or are there other good, and safe places to download free and paid for apps?
I only ask as an app I bought from the Android Market, which changed to Google.Play is no longer on the site. However the app can be found in a place called AndroidPit. I can't find any reviews of this site and I don't know if I can trust them with my credit card details.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not recommend market alternative ,if you want to play safe applications.
Google Play at least when it is discovered malware is deleted (even remotely).
Alternative market of this assurance level do not have it ..
Actually getjar.com is good, its how I get tapatalk free and its a reputable site so should be safe
Dave
( http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAownKXmAQ/bigfatuniverse )
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk
ancilary said:
google play is the safest and cant tell about other "unofficial" alternatives,
but to browse apps appbrain is good but when you want to download something it forwards you to google play.. there is some plugin for appbrain which enables web download but i never tried it cause i m happy with google play
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mmm safest...http://www.ghacks.net/2011/11/13/free-android-anti-virus-apps-are-proved-useless/
app brain fast web install plugin works flawlessly , and i think app brain is a good choice/alt,
sometimes smoother than goo play
Google Play is far and beyond the best and safest place to find apps, including apps up to date.
how to download removed purchased apps
the lemming said:
Hello
I know that I must wear a condom while surfing the net and installing apps to keep safe but is Google.Play the only safe place to visit for Android Apps?
Or are there other good, and safe places to download free and paid for apps?
I only ask as an app I bought from the Android Market, which changed to Google.Play is no longer on the site. However the app can be found in a place called AndroidPit. I can't find any reviews of this site and I don't know if I can trust them with my credit card details.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you still have the direct link to your paid app, there is a high chance it is still available in the market, even if the developer and google says other wise!
I had a similar situation for an app called pzizz which was apparently removed from the market due to changes in the company that makes it,
neither the new management nor google told me it still exists,
I managed to download it though by accessing the market from my pc and downloading it.
this could happen only if
you have the original link of the paid app ( you could not find the app by searching or browsing google play, you must have the original link)
you purchased the app before it is removed, if you didnt, the direct link for the app would not work, only if you purchased the app and signed in by the account in which the app was purchased you would be able to see the app
requesting to download the app from a computer, you cant do this directly from your phone and further when it is downloaded it will not be linked to the market
good luck
Why not Aptoide?
the lemming said:
Hello
I know that I must wear a condom while surfing the net and installing apps to keep safe but is Google.Play the only safe place to visit for Android Apps?
Or are there other good, and safe places to download free and paid for apps?
I only ask as an app I bought from the Android Market, which changed to Google.Play is no longer on the site. However the app can be found in a place called AndroidPit. I can't find any reviews of this site and I don't know if I can trust them with my credit card details.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw your post and I had to reply. I worked for Aptoide, which is an independent android marketplace and they do a screening to the apps (at least the ones in their "apps" repository) so that they're free of malware. They were thinking of launching paid apps soon, but for now you have a lot of free apps that are safe to download.
Try it, maybe you'll be surprised!
What about slideme?
Sent from my SGH-I777
Hey I am making a list of all available apk file or google play alternatives on my site so far i have managed to collect 23 and still adding just make sure to check it out it may help check gprsgeek.blogspot.com
Just made a apk hacker on for any app
check it on my site http://www.netalien.biz/newapkhackerlaunched:cowboy:
Mobango and androidfreeware could be alternative, plus apps.opera.com
Alternatives to Google Play
Some third party sites that are known to be safe are apkpure, apknite, apkmirror
So I am coming for iphone to sg3 and in iphone we able to "jailbreak" the iphone and get "free apps" is this the case with rooted phones? do you still download apps from the market?
thanks
lostsoul565 said:
So I am coming for iphone to sg3 and in iphone we able to "jailbreak" the iphone and get "free apps" is this the case with rooted phones? do you still download apps from the market?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. You can get apps from the Play Store or from anywhere else you can download an .apk from. It's a very open platform.
awsome just wanted to confirm.
lostsoul565 said:
So I am coming for iphone to sg3 and in iphone we able to "jailbreak" the iphone and get "free apps" is this the case with rooted phones? do you still download apps from the market?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol you don't need root for free apps nor does rooting your phone give you acces to free apps. All rooting does, app wise, is allow you to install apps that require root.
sent from my hoXl
can't play my geetahr with out a geetahr string!
Just to clarify; you are attempting to get a free copy of a paid-only app?
If so, that's called piracy and not well seen on XDA... especially since a LOT of app developers are registered and active over here!
But as already said, rooting your device allows you to gain low-level access to the underlying operating system and hardware components to add or change features.
This is different from iOS' Cydia which is an alternative market allowing you to sideload apps (install apps not from the official market). This feature is already
integrated into Android and only requires checking a tickbox to confirm you are aware of the risks that a non-market app may bring.
great thanks now i am confused. like on he iphone you can go to and download free apps even apps that are in apple. is there such as site for androids?
d4fseeker said:
Just to clarify; you are attempting to get a free copy of a paid-only app?
If so, that's called piracy and not well seen on XDA... especially since a LOT of app developers are registered and active over here!
But as already said, rooting your device allows you to gain low-level access to the underlying operating system and hardware components to add or change features.
This is different from iOS' Cydia which is an alternative market allowing you to sideload apps (install apps not from the official market). This feature is already
integrated into Android and only requires checking a tickbox to confirm you are aware of the risks that a non-market app may bring.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks i am just not aware of how it worked as this is my first android. i will keep that in mind.
lostsoul565 said:
great thanks now i am confused. like on he iphone you can go to and download free apps even apps that are in apple. is there such as site for androids?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was/still is illegal on the iPhone too. Downloading 'pirated' apps is not cool on any platform.
The Apps found in Cydia (by default) are not pirated and are from hard working developers. 3rd party sources, not supported by Cydia, were often known for having a lot of pirated Apple/Cydia apps.
Baldilocks said:
That was/still is illegal on the iPhone too. Downloading 'pirated' apps is not cool on any platform.
The Apps found in Cydia (by default) are not pirated and are from hard working developers. 3rd party sources, not supported by Cydia, were often known for having a lot of pirated Apple/Cydia apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only downloaded from app store and here and there from cydia..
Was just wondering what peoples thoughts were on using the Android Licensing copy protection in their apps? Do you use it and do you spend a lot of time on it or have any creative ways to help enforce it?
As we all know any kind of drm will always be cracked but I just wanted to know if people found it worthwhile to have..
I'm using In-app-billing, because I found that even licensed apps can be copied.
And yes, all apps can be cracked eventually, but most of the publishers of cracked apps remove them if you ask to. So that's what I'm gonna do!
Sent from my Nexus 4 running Android 4.2 JB
I don't like license checks that force you to be online, but I do like to have 'something' in place...
Recently I started working with some OEMs in India who wanted to pre-load my apps on their devices. Very exciting obviously, but I didn't know if I could trust them as I'd never heard of them.
So what I did was get the app to load a web page on one of my servers off the screen (9000%x...) so that it couldn't be seen. The page it linked to was empty, but if I wanted to I could modify the code to include a redirect that would send it to another page. Then in my 'onPageOverride' event I just said if URL = 'stopapp.htm' then do whatever it was I wanted to do.
What I actually have it do in that event is to fill the entire screen with that web page. The user then can't interact with the app underneath, but they get a message that I can create at the time saying 'This app has been illegally distributed' or whatever else I want to say. I can even forward them on to the download page if I want this way.
This works well too because if the user isn't online, the page just doesn't load and nothing happens. But if I want to stop offline use as well I can save a file in File.DirInternal and have the app check for that. 'SwitchOff.txt'. They get caught once, then they can't use the app.
Obviously this doesn't work quite like a license check, but what you *could* do with it is to have the app pop up with a message to people using an old version that's not updated. That's probably downloaded off of some file sharing site, so you could then just keep pestering them to 'update' and send them to the Play Store to do so. You can also check how many of the users on that version of your app are legitimate by looking at your Play Developer Console.
One thing to note is that the redirect URLs you use will need to be different in every version of your app that you release.
Hope this helps someone! I wish I'd done it sooner, one of my apps is all over the web grrrr...
pretty much the same as what I'm doing atm except I just ping a server in the background and display a popup if the result meets certain conditions.. I don't disable the app either as I can't be 100% certain it's pirated, instead I display a "scary" popup saying if they're using a pirated copy this is illegal etc.. your average user won't know how the popup was generated so it should be enough to make them think "someone" is onto them and go the proper route.. With the added bonus a genuine user can just press ok and carry on using the app
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4
Currently, none of my apps use licensing.
For one of my paid apps, about 5% of the downloads are from non-Google Play sources, meaning, I'm not seeing any revenue from those 5%.
There is an Android API, that allows developers to see which platform their app was downloaded from. So, I've been thinking about adding that hidden feature to my apps and maybe do something fun with it. But, haven't got around to it yet. My thinking has been that if somebody downloaded a pirated copy of my app, then they probably weren't going to pay for it in the first place. And, hopefully, they will tell their friends about it and maybe one of them will actually purchase it through Google Play.
I already have all my licensing code in place and commented out. Since my app is pretty new I want to see how it does before adding licensing. Since the app is free and income is from IAP its not too bad. I'd only turn on licensing in the next release if I see a pressing need for it.
Currently, none of my apps use licensing.