Android News
Lack of paid apps in Android Market contributes to app piracy [OPINION]
August 3, 2010 | by Andrew Kameka
Android OS
Google recently announced a new licensing system to combat app piracy. Developers are pleased to see stronger protection of their creation, but if Google really wants to fight theft, it should expand paid app support to more countries.
Global Android users have been banging this drum, but the noise has fallen on deaf ears. After nearly two years of existence, the Android Market still supports paid apps in only 14 countries. Anyone not in one of those 14 nations is forced to sit on the sideline and wait for a day that isn’t promised this calendar year or the next.
Or they can do the unthinkable and steal.
Make no mistake about it: hordes of people using illegal copies of Android apps would still do so if they could purchase apps. However, I’d wager that there’s a large portion of consumers who would gladly pay for the privilege. The lack of support forces many to travel down the shady path.
Take a look at this chart developed by Hexage, developer of popular apps like Buka and Radiant. The retro shooter game Radiant has about 50,000 users, but thousands of those users run illegal copies of the app.
You’ll notice that places with the highest piracy rates are in regions where only a handful of nations have turned on the paid app switch. Hexage reports that
- 70 percent of Radiant players in Europe, where only 8 of 49 nations have paid app support, use a pirated copy.
- Asia, which has a whopping 97 percent, has only Japan and South Korea among its rank of paid users.
- South America, which doesn’t have any nation eligible for paid apps, also has a 97 percentage rate of illegal copies.
Note: Legal copies in countries without paid apps come from Market alternative SlideMe.
North America (Canada and the U.S.) comparatively reports 43 percent illegal users. That’s considerably lower than other regions, and I strongly believe that the U.S. getting paid apps early contributed to that lower rating. Would Oceania’s 91 percent be lower had paid apps arrived in Australia and New Zealand sooner?
Moralists will say that theft is wrong and there are alternative markets for buying apps, but those solutions are less attractive and publicized than the built-in Market. The reality is that not every desirable app is in these markets, and constantly sideloading updates to apps is a headache for developers and consumers.
Adding paid support to more countries will not spell the end of app piracy. However, it could stem the tide of people turning to black markets out of frustration and necessity. Google continues to say that there are several external factors that prevent it from adding paid apps to more countries, but those obstacles need to be addressed. Licensing may set up roadblocks for now, but history has shown that dedicated people will eventually find their way around software limitation. It’s best to make the need to pirate apps a non-issue.
Hexage informed us that the anonymous usage data has been collected over a period of 10 months using Flurry Analytics and Google Checkout API. Piracy rate represents the ratio of unlicensed copies to the total number of installed copies. For example, piracy rate of 90% means that nine out of ten users obtained the app illegally.
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Why don't more developers just use slideme?
@ari-free because users dont use slideme
And users don't use SlideMe because their payment verification system is so mind numbingly stupid: I tried but it would take me more than a month to get approved before I could make my first payment.
Yes this actical is correct. I live in Denmark one of the countries who do not have paidable apps. I do not want to root my mobil, to scare to brink it.
I have found around this that is not illegal. I have bought prepaid at&t simcard from the USA, with no money on it. I paid like 5 dollers for it on ebay and got it sent to my door, took 4 days. Then I switch out my danish simcard with the AT&T card. Then my phone, even when im in Denmark, thinks it is american phone, all paid apps are available. Then i pay with my google check account and volia i have the apps i want. Then when I put my own simcard in agian, all my paid apps still get updated thru the market without changin simcard..
Some might see this as abit to much to go thru, but it is really not that bad, and I really want to support the Developers and ofcourse some apps are only available as pay apps.
Winna I want to try your option, does the sim card need to be activated or not?
something like that will work? http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-AT-T-3G-simcard-nev…
I ofcourse download with wireless internet when I got AT&T card in so I dont need to put money on it.
Ps. Thanks for a great android page, one of my favorites on the net.
Stupid
The people in those affected countries use Market Enabler. I would like to think most people would do the right thing, rather than pirating paid apps. Market Enabler is easily found in a Google search if you are looking to unlock your Market to paid apps …
But then you need to root you mobil, which is something alot of people dont want to do, of the fear to brink the phone.
Great post, Andrew. One of the most common objections I heard to my PaidAppPledge post was from folks who, because of the country they live in, are unable to buy paid apps in the Android Market. There was a time I'd have argued that flaws in the official Market are just opportunities for 3rd party markets, none have really risen to the occasion, and at this point, Google just needs to start fixing things. The exciting hardware and huge numbers of people buying Android phones should drive huge interest from developers, but issues like these have the potential to really damp that interest.
like the title says, opinion – exactly.
Interesting idea. However, I reckon that someone who is savvy enough to pirate an app would pirate the app regardless. Having said that, I can't fathom how cheap some people are that they would actively pirate apps that cost $1-$2 a piece. That's like shoplifting at the dollar store! I swear, some people will steal anything that isn't bolted down…
That's the puch line: if one needs a $2 app, but has no easy way to pay the $2 – she has a huge incentive to steal. When I cannot use my cellular to pay for the parking place, I will usually park without paying, because I rarely have the coins that the machine will accept. Apple has the built-in payment channel always open, which makes it much easier to buy.
I was mainly referring to the rampant piracy in the US, where we do have access (but I didn't say that). So, I agree to a certain extent — I can see why people do it if there is no other avenue. Except there are 2 other perfectly legal options: US SIMS and other stores.
You can sidestep the problem by using a US SIM to purchase and load apps over WiFi, as has already been mentioned (but I suspect that many don't know this). While I understand that it is a major PITA, and Google should get their a$$ in gear and get the MarketPlace running across the globe, I cannot accept the argument that people are forced into pirating. Sure, there will be people that will pirate regardless, but there is a perfectly legal avenue to pursue, and it isn't that expensive.
The MarketPlace should be available all over the world. However, Apple's App Store is not entirely global, although it supports many more countries, and they keep adding new countries. It does illustrate that the problem with Google Checkout (which is where the problem lies) is more fundamental — I suspect it has something to do with local laws, regulations and consumer rights.
On a side note…Seriously? Even though you _know_ there is a chance that you won't be able to park legally without coins if you can't pay with your phone, you do it anyway? You always have the option to going around the corner and parking somewhere your phone can be used to make payments — nobody forces you to park there illegally. Or you could *shock* keep the proper coins the car *shock*. Similarly, Google isn't forcing you to pirate. There are stores other than the Market Place which don't have such stringent restrictions on location. See SlideMe, Handango, MobiHand, PocketGear/AndroidGear, to name but a few.
>>On a side note…Seriously? Even though you _know_ there is a chance that you won't be able to park legally without coins if you can't pay with your phone, you do it anyway? You always have the option to going around the corner and parking somewhere your phone can be used to make payments — nobody forces you to park there illegally. Or you could *shock* keep the proper coins the car *shock*. Similarly, Google isn't forcing you to pirate. There are stores other than the Market Place which don't have such stringent restrictions on location. See SlideMe, Handango, MobiHand, PocketGear/AndroidGear, to name but a few.>>
Haha, I'm guessing you don't regularly park at meters. Keep coins in your car. You really expect me to believe that on the day you are running late, w/o time to search for a parking space and no coins in your car, you just give up an go home rather than park w/o paying. Whenever people make statements like this that ignore reality, it makes me suspicious of anything else they say.
You would be correct — I don't part at parking meters much at all. However, I will guarantee that I have enough coins in my car for parking at any time. I have a little compartment in the dash that has nothing but coins in it. See, I rarely use cash for anything (and coins almost never get used), so those coins just sit there. I won't say that I would never park illegally — it would depend on the circumstance. But generally, no, I will not park in a spot without paying because, at least where I live, you are almost guaranteed to get a ticket within 30 minutes of parking there illegally.
I don't care if you believe me or not. You are free to dismiss anything I say with the belief that I am out of touch with reality, but that would be incredible short-sighted. Perhaps you should be a little more organized. Maybe you should leave a little earlier so you can park a couple of blocks further away where you can pay with your phone, or maybe, you know, make sure you have coins in the car…it's not that difficult. Or just deal with the parking tickets. You might benefit from this app: http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.googlelabs.opensp…
Like Microsoft doesn't take initiative to provide Windows easily available in stores and at a affordable price , Android is also following the same path
But things have improved with microsoft and their marketing strategies over the past 2-4 years .
Lets see where Android lands in terms of paid apps and when ???
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Great poat as always
Great poat as always
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