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.
Related
Hi,
I'm still very happy with my Hero, however I'm sure the time will come to move to a new device. My understanding is that my applications from the market are tied to my device, is this the case or are they tied to my Google account?
Basically when I do move to another device (almost certainly another Android device unless Windows 7 for Mobile is spectacular!) do I lose all my paid for apps?
Ta
M
Your paid apps are tied to your Google account. Some apps, eg Copilot, have a separate activation procedure and these are tied to the phone. However, in this case you can deactivate the software on the old phone and reactivate it again on the new one.
Regards,
Dave
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
I am relatively new to Android, via a Dell Streak.
I have just bought an Advent Vega, and I am trying (without any success!) to understand how app licencing works when I have 2 or more devices.
It's obviously not a problem for free apps, but what is the position for the apps that I have paid for (e.g., NDrive, VCOrganizer Pro, Bloat Freezer)? Can I run these on multiple devices, or do I need to buy a separate licence for each device? If it's the latter, how do I do this, given that they are all tied into one Google account, so whichever device I use to connect to the Android Market, Google always thinks that the app has been paid for.
Or does it depend on the application (in which case, how do I find out what the position is for each app? The web sites don't tell me).
Confused!
You can use the softwares on more than one device as long as you have the same google account on them. I have a Desire and considering this fact buying this tablet was a better deal than an Ipad.
Sent from my CorvusVegaRom_0.5 using Tapatalk
Any app you download in the android market, paid or not can be run on any android device linked to the same google account.
If you buy apps from alternative sources e.g. gameloft then they usually link the apps to your specific device
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.
I bought a Nook Color Tablet for my daughter for her birthday. I would have put my Google Account info on it, but I didn't want to allow for even the chance that anyone could pick it up and access my gmail correspondence. This is a bummer. I have all of the family's several IOS devices on a single iTunes account, so any app I buy for one iOS device, I've effectively bought for all (1 iPad, 1 iPhone and 4 iPod Touches in the family). I would have wanted to do the same thing on our Android devices, but I use Google Apps for my law firm's domain, so that means that my gmail contains confidential attorney-client correspondence. Lawyers walk the plank for letting others read atty-client communications, so I couldn't put my regular Google account on the Nook. Instead, I created a new one just for the NT.
Since the NT has a different account than my other Android devices, then I assume that means none of the apps I've already bought for my Android phone (Samsung Droid Charge) and Android tablet (Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet 1838) can be installed on the Nook tablet -- at least not easily.
I've seen some threads here about using Titanium Backup to backup apps from other Android devices and then extract the APK and install on the Nook Color Tablet as an end-around way of installing apps that aren't available (to the Nook) on the Android Market.
Question: can I backup apps that I bought on [email protected], then extract the APK, then install that APK to the NT that is tied to [email protected]?
It is possible to do so but, you won't be able to update the apps on the nook tablet
the problem is that it is technically piracy and therefore illegal
I've never considered to be piracy...nor given it much thought. Probably wouldn't stop me either way. When I was using my rooted NC under the same account as my phone, it had equal access to the apps I've already paid for, and my NT will too once I get around to rooting it. For now, I'm doing exactly what OP is asking about, and it works great...just without the updates. So for now, I figure I'll just make it a point to regularly re-install the apps that I back up, or buy. I don't agree with pirating apps, but I figure if I've paid for it and I have access to them on whatever device has my google account on it then they're free game since there are no restrictions there. I've just get to get my account on my NT.
I'm opposed to piracy too. And maybe what I am trying to do is piracy, but I don't see it that way. If I put my Google account on my Nook Tab, then I could install all my Android apps there without violating the license. But to protect my privacy (and, more importantly, my clients' privacy), I can't put my Google acct on the Nook, because there's no way (no way that I know of, anyway) that I can absolutely positively keep anyone who picks up the Nook from accessing my Gmail and my Google Apps email. I'm aware of some things that could be done (like using Seal or App Protector), but none of them is foolproof. I don't want to give a device to a teenager that's not locked down in terms of privacy. So to solve this, I just put a new account on the Nook. If someone wants to call it piracy under these circumstances, I guess they'd be correct, but it sure seems a use within the spirit of the agreement.
YMMV
I would do it myself in your situation but I was just letting you know what you would be doing