No Paid Apps For Aussie Android Users For A Few Months
Considering that the HTC Dream, Australia’s first Android-powered handset, hit shelves the same time Google announced that paid apps were coming to the Android Market, you’d be forgiven for hoping that the two events would blend together into one homogeneous announcement of tasty app goodness. Sadly, this is not the case.As any of you who have rushed out to pick up the HTC Dream will have already discovered, only free apps are available through the Market program on your phone in Australia. We asked Google about it, and while they couldn’t give us a firm launch date, they did say they’ll “add end user support for additional countries in the coming months.”
Of course, you can still purchase paid apps from each Android developers website, but the convenience of using the Android Market is still a few months away, sadly.
On a side note, how many of you rushed out to pick up the HTC Dream from Optus this week? What do you guys think?
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Comments
I’m seriously thinking about cause SIMplus is closing up and they want me to move over to Optus. But after those shots of the G2 coming out, dont really want to trade up to something that will likely be outdated a few months into the contract.
not to mention all the awesome stuff showing in Barcelona atm
I wanted to check the handset out in person so I went to the only Optus-y shop in central Hobart… and they don’t have it because “there’s not much demand” and I’d have to order one. Sigh.
I bought the G1 on Monday, and so far I like it. I was upgrading from a HTC Touch Dual, and it also forced a move over to Optus. No one in the Optus store I went to could answer a single question about the phone or the plans or were even sure if they had it, but thankfully I’d checked it all out in advance.
I’ve found a few great apps in the last 48hrs and already replaced a few other specialist gadgets I have with the great GPS functionality. The shop comparison tools based on barcode reading are also good ideas, but work less well in Aus.
Free apps seems to mean a very variable quality, so it pays to read the reviews (some very youtube esq). That being said, the process is pretty seamless. I’ve had ‘free’ apps from the app store that I had to pay for to unlock a full version. This is ok as an interim measure.
In short – Best thing is the awesome web application integration, very tight. The worst thing is the battery life. It’s VERY poor, but replacements on ebay are cheap.
This totally sucks! The G1/Dream is a great phone but we are meant to sit around on our hands and wait while everyone enjoys the great new apps out!! Do they care about piracy? It has already been shown its not hard to pirate apps-
who can we complain to about this?
I got the dream the day it came out in aus. Does anyone know whats happening with the update in australia, my friends with 2 year old handsets have lattiude and i cant seem to get it, or this rc33 update everyone is raving about. will that come in a few months? that sucks
I picked up mine on Friday the 13th of March. That said I’m mostly happy with the phone. Android is fast and stable so far. I’ve had it freeze for all of 4 seconds once or twice. My only real beefs are the battery life and the 18bit colour depth. The camera takes pretty good shots that look good on my PC but they look shite on the phone. Not sure if this is a hardware constraint or something hard coded into Android.
All up I’m happy with the wee beastie and can’t wait to start developing my own apps.