Android mobiles will invade pockets world-wide later this year, and now Google’s shown how to get apps onto them, with its unveiling of the Android Market.
Google says it chose the name Market, rather than Store, to reflect the platforms openness and the ability of developers to make it their own.
According to Google, the system is much like YouTube, where all a developer needs to register and provide a description for their app.
Just like YouTube, Android Market will have a ratings system and allow feedback. It’s not yet clear whether it’ll actively pull the plug on dangerous or harmful apps, like Apple, or whether it’ll ban certain types of app being uploaded.
Unlike Apple, Google says it’ll also allow apps to be installed outside of Android Market. That means it’ll lose control over which programs are allowed on its handsets. But then, that’s the point of it being open source.
To begin with, apps available through Android Marketplace will all be free, as Google plans to introduce a payment system at a later date.
TBC | £TBC | Google
