...at least until amazon stops giving the free app every day deal. As of now, all of the apps they have sponsored are top tier apps...angry birds, shazam and soundhound, fruit ninja, doodle jump. I'm afraid that if I buy something, it will be free the next day. How long is Amazon going to keep this up? I imagine that they will at least start to move into the lesser known apps.
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Who else have stopped buying apps...
- Thread starter mttfrog13
- Start date
ScottColbert
Well-Known Member
If you ever wonder why devs are reluctant to make apps available for android, it's because of this kind of attitude. so an app you pay for may be free one day-so what? At least you're supporting a developer to continue releasing new apps or updating previous ones. And given the dirt cheap pricing-if a couple of bucks means that much-maybe a smart phone isn't for you.
alostpacket
Over Macho Grande?
Hmmmmm I'm not sure I like the sounds of this.
I believe the free app a day is part of their permanent plan. It isn't a reason not to buy apps, if the app is worth the price then pay for it. How did you decide to purchase your phone? You knew at some point in the future the phone would be cheaper and something better would be available for the same price or less.
jesus don't take what i said to heart, I wasn't being that literal. My point is that they are releasing really popular high quality apps for free which I appreciate and its possible that any day they might be releasing an app I could have bought the day before.
AngryHatter
Android Expert
Games?
Meh
Meh
sharkerbaby
Member
I figured the arrangement was like most other retail special offers... the manufacturer (devs in this case) are still compensated for the product by the retail store and assumed the devs were being compensated by amazon for the each app being "sold" (downloaded). I was looking at these specials as being amazon's "loss leaders".
alostpacket
Over Macho Grande?
From the dev portal FAQ on their site:
I believe the list price is what devs can set when submitting the app and then Amazon sets the final price.
Which is unfortunate because then if Amazon wants to give away an app for free the dev needs to set the price at $5 in order to get $1 back.
That's as far as I understand it though. I haven't put any of my apps up there yet.
I believe the list price is what devs can set when submitting the app and then Amazon sets the final price.
Which is unfortunate because then if Amazon wants to give away an app for free the dev needs to set the price at $5 in order to get $1 back.
That's as far as I understand it though. I haven't put any of my apps up there yet.
They are still giving away free mp3s daily with the mp3 app
I would rather them release high quality useful apps than crappy ones.
eirrom
Newbie
Only problem is when there is an update for your "free" app, you have no way to get the update without paying for the app i.e. yesterday with SoundHound.
Yesterday, I got the "free" SoundHound app and right away Android Market notified me that the version I had was out-of-date. I went to update it and was told I have to pay $4.99 for the update. So much for free.
D
Deleted User
Guest
Well, you're doing it wrong. Apps purchased from within the Amazon store have to be updated from within the Amazon store.
There is an Update Category in the Amazon Apps. Who is to say that you won't get an update in time for the app? The update itself was only to fix cpu usage and battery drain issues with the Droid X. Someone had mentioned earlier that apps coming in to the Amazon App store will take longer to go online because they will be reviewing them. The same could be said for updates as well. The update was released 20 days ago but who is to say that they have not had time to review it yet because they have been working on launching the store in the first place.
Give it time and if the app doesn't update through Amazon in the end then get rid of the app and go back to the Free Soundhound.
Are you using appbrain? The apps I download from amazon do not show up on my android market apps as they shouldn't seeing as they weren't purchased via the android market.
DenverRalphy
Android Enthusiast
The issue isn't that there is an update you can't get. The issue is that the packages for apps on the Android Market and Amazon aren't identical. As well, the Market doesn't monitor apps you've installed via Amazon, so you're obviously using Appbrain which is a portal to the Market. Unfortunately, Appbrain doesn't monitor your Market apps. It compares all the apps you have installed on the phone regardless of where you acquired it, and compares it to the database they build off of the Market. The same thing happens if you manually install an app you got directly from the dev/publisher.
Appbrain has always been flaky when monitoring app versions. So what you're seeing is Appbrain not being able to differentiate the package you have installed via Amazon when it compares it to the Market version. They may be the same actual version, but if the package date or build numbers differ, Appbrain hasn't a clue.
I dumped Appbrain ages ago.
[edit]If you aren't using Appbrain, then the only explanation would be that you installed the Amazon version over an existing Market version, and the Market still assumes you have their package installed. When the package doesn't match, it assumes you've got an old version.
ari-free
Android Expert
There are only 365 days in a year. That means after one year, you'll only get 365 apps out of thousands of apps.
ari-free
Android Expert
If everyone is checking out Amazon each and every single day to get their free app, they will come to buy apps.
Amazon knows what they are doing, don't worry.
alostpacket
Over Macho Grande?
If everyone is checking out Amazon each and every single day to get their free app, they will come to buy apps.
Amazon knows what they are doing, don't worry.
Well Amazon doesnt necessarily care if you buy an app per se, -- just that you buy something from them. Remember, they sell just about everything from shoelaces to HDTVs. Free apps do drive traffic, but might not always drive traffic to Android.
Still, I think they do want to see the apps do well because if they dont do well, it will look bad.
But from a purely business/financial perspective, they just care that you buy, doesn't matter if it's an app or a microwave. In fact, I'd think they make more off the microwave.
Just something to keep in mind. Loss leaders aren't always good for those used as the loss leader. Just ask WalMart's suppliers.
I'm a broke college student. After about 8 months, my android market paid apps are worth $40, that's more than probably 90% of people with an android or blackberry. At least I do buy apps at all. I'm not saying I buy a lot, but can you really blame a person for bargain shop and get a deal? And like I said, I don't mean this literally, if there is some app I really want, I'm not waiting weeks or months to get it. And dirt cheap you say? Since the amazon appstore has been open, I already have over $20 worth of apps I wanted. They are mostly apps that I've been on the fence about buying.
Wow everyone is getting really defensive, lighten up...
ari-free
Android Expert
Amazon had to get people to go through all the hoops and come to the store. They also had to solve the chicken/egg problem because market has more apps. If they can get people to come with free apps of the day, devs will bring more apps for people to buy.
The review section isn't just informative but it is also a lifestyle for many people. There are many people who seem to be dedicating their entire lives to writing reviews and they want to be rated as top reviewers. People also spend a lot of time in their discussion forums. So they have the social web thing working.
The review section isn't just informative but it is also a lifestyle for many people. There are many people who seem to be dedicating their entire lives to writing reviews and they want to be rated as top reviewers. People also spend a lot of time in their discussion forums. So they have the social web thing working.
Use the Amazon appstore to update. there is apps icon you can click on and it will tell you if you have any updated. I updated my SoundHound app and it didn't cost anything.
Bob