Loving the new android market...

[SunnyD]

Today is the first day I've ever really played with the market since updating my phone last month. I knew it was there, just haven't bothered. Google is doing good here. First thing I noticed off the bat is more categories, and a better breakdown of the app types you'll find in them.

Dare I say it, the android market is getting better.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Today is the first day I've ever really played with the market since updating my phone last month. I knew it was there, just haven't bothered. Google is doing good here. First thing I noticed off the bat is more categories, and a better breakdown of the app types you'll find in them.

Dare I say it, the android market is getting better.

Yeah, I have enjoyed it too.

I also love the web version of the market for PC's. I bought a couple of apps using it the other day and it instantly downloaded and installed them on my Captivate without any problems.

 

[Monster_Munch]

It still has many problems that should be easy to fix. The search doesn't work very well, the thing you're actually looking for is usually way down in the results. You can't sort the list by rating or price. The comments are as moronic as youtube comments but with no spam filter and no way for the developer to respond to the idiots and trolls. The featured apps are the same every time you open the market, and talking tom cat is always number 1.

And I'm saying this as an android fanboy who has published a few apps on the market.

 

[purbeast0]

the main thing i hate about the android market is that as developer, i just wish they would give youthe OPTION on your refunding policy.

i know they changed it to 15 mins from 24 hours, which helps devs, but i still think they should give the dev some kind of option which even includes no refunds.

i have more 'cancels' for my app on the market than actual sales now a days, and i'm pretty sure it is because my app is just a guide for a video game with tons of info. with the 15 min return policy, you can purchase it, look up the info you want, then just get your money back.

if i could, i'd put no refunds on my app. it is .99 cents which is hardly any cash to spend on something you will use every now and then and i spent a lot of time making it, and the fact it is a guide makes it so you can just look stuff up and cancel the order because you found what you needed.

i noticed this trend after my initial surge of sales where i'd hardly have any returns. it was when the daily sales of like 3-5 or so started to come in with just as many cancels that i realized people were probably doing this. i can't say for 100% this is the case, but it seems very likely IMO.

 

[gorcorps]

the main thing i hate about the android market is that as developer, i just wish they would give youthe OPTION on your refunding policy.

i know they changed it to 15 mins from 24 hours, which helps devs, but i still think they should give the dev some kind of option which even includes no refunds.

i have more 'cancels' for my app on the market than actual sales now a days, and i'm pretty sure it is because my app is just a guide for a video game with tons of info. with the 15 min return policy, you can purchase it, look up the info you want, then just get your money back.

if i could, i'd put no refunds on my app. it is .99 cents which is hardly any cash to spend on something you will use every now and then and i spent a lot of time making it, and the fact it is a guide makes it so you can just look stuff up and cancel the order because you found what you needed.

i noticed this trend after my initial surge of sales where i'd hardly have any returns. it was when the daily sales of like 3-5 or so started to come in with just as many cancels that i realized people were probably doing this. i can't say for 100% this is the case, but it seems very likely IMO.

That's too bad. Can people also buy/cancel multiple times? If so that's a huge mistake.

 

[abaez]

No, you can't rebuy. At least you couldn't before. If you buy it again it's yours.

 

[dguy6789]

The refund policy is necessary because there is no kind of minimum bar for quality of an app. Individual developers have no reputation or trust built up except for a select few noteworthy ones such as Rovio. It's a gamble to give random people(and these are random people usually, not big companies bound by regulations) non refundable money for something that may or not be anything like what it is advertised to be.

 

[ChronoReverse]

And it's a one time thing as well. It's not like someone could actually use a guide for 15 minutes each time and then just refund it.

It actually someone downloading the guide, using it quickly, deciding it wasn't worth it and then never looking at it again.

 

[ZetaEpyon]

15 minutes is just too short, imo.

I grabbed an app and spent some time in its configuration, seeing if it would work for what I wanted (in terms of additional features in the paid version). By the time I determined that I was OK with the free version, it was too late for a refund.

Like was mentioned, it's not like you can abuse the refund by doing it repeatedly. It was very clear that it's a one-time refund; if you buy it again after that, it's not refundable.

 

[Red Storm]

I still can't believe that Google, kings of data collection and search, still can't make a decent market. Why can't I sort by number of downloads, release date, rating, etc? I want to be able to search something, and then sort the results by category or price or whatever. I really don't see why Google can't do a better job of it. Even in its improved state it's still way too basic.

 

[purbeast0]

The refund policy is necessary because there is no kind of minimum bar for quality of an app. Individual developers have no reputation or trust built up except for a select few noteworthy ones such as Rovio. It's a gamble to give random people(and these are random people usually, not big companies bound by regulations) non refundable money for something that may or not be anything like what it is advertised to be.

well that is when as a new dev you can put a return policy, then as you build up a rep, you can put none, depending on the app. but it does make sense in that you can literally put ANYTHING on there and be selling it within minutes of publishing it.

i was not aware of the 'refund only one time' policy they have. i will say i've seen the same people purchase my app after they cancelled it, so maybe they did not realize this. is this something that is in your face?

 

[abaez]

Yes, I think you get a message when you buy it again.

 

[notposting]

I have nearly completely stopped buying apps since the new policy went into effect. I don't like feeling rushed and usually want to spend my lazy Sunday afternoon tinkering with my phone and maybe trying a new app. Not approaching it the same way I approach traffic around here--angrily and at high speed.

 

[zerocool84]

I have nearly completely stopped buying apps since the new policy went into effect. I don't like feeling rushed and usually want to spend my lazy Sunday afternoon tinkering with my phone and maybe trying a new app. Not approaching it the same way I approach traffic around here--angrily and at high speed.

Well I can understand that but it was getting abused too much so they had to change it. I feel an hour is around a better time than just 15min. Also 15min is still better than anyone else since the others don't have any way to easily refund apps.

 

[Spoooon]

At least one dev (beautiful weather) is still providing you 24 hours.

Noticed it the other day when I updated. I guess he does it manually, asking that you contact him with your google checkout receipt or something.

 

[QueBert]

Does anyone know if there's a good contact replacement app on the market? I've tried the 10 or so I could find and didn't like them. The default one sucks on my Moto 1, at least 1 good replacement has to exist, but I sure as hell can't find it.

 

[Spoooon]

Does anyone know if there's a good contact replacement app on the market? I've tried the 10 or so I could find and didn't like them. The default one sucks on my Moto 1, at least 1 good replacement has to exist, but I sure as hell can't find it.

What are your criteria?

 

[QueBert]

What are your criteria?

Birthday field I can add directly from my phone, extra fields I can rename, the ability to add groups. It doesn't have to sync online, I have syncing disabled. Since when I had it on it replaced the high resolution pics I have of contacts with really crappy low resolution ones.