Android applications unavailable for unlocked G1 phones
Posted on February 27, 2009, under Google Android.
Google’s Android division is currently blocking users of unblocked G1 phones from downloading paid applications on the Android market, the policy is aimed at preventing casual user-to-user pirating of applications and only involves copy protected applications. The new policy onle effects “copy protected” applications and not all paid applications.
But apparently a loophole in the unlocked G1 device lets users get a copy of the paid application from the Android market. “We aren’t distributing copy protected applications to these phones in order to minimize unauthorized copy of the applications,” explained the Google spokesperson. The Market, which opened in late September, had 307 free applications as of late November. According to Google there are now over 1000 free apps and hundreds of priced apps available in Android Market. The unlocked phones sell for about $400 after developers pay a $25 fee to join the Android developer program. As of January, Apple’s iPhone App Store offered 15,000 applications, with downloads hitting 500 million.