We reported a few months ago that they had begun to remove the more unsavoury apps from its marketplace, to try and make their marketplace less like a flee-market and a place that can really compete with Apple’s App Store.
Well now the are adding a in-app purchasing to its tools for would-be developers, in-app purchases has been something Apple has implemented into its own App Store and Google is going down the same route.
In-app purchases have transformed the model of free-to-play apps in recent months, with games like Farmville paving the way for a model that really does seem to work for app developers as they will can offer content for free apps meaning that they should start to see improved revenue streams.
In-app purchases will allow customers to browse content more conveniently and allows users to try out apps for free and then allow them to buy content for the app from within the app it self, making the process a whole lot more secure and user friendly.
This model is an important option because some consumers don’t want to pay 99p or more for an app just to try out something on the Android Market.
Android is growing and this should encourage developers to make apps for it, the in-app billing should make a big difference in how much developers are willing to invest in making apps for the platform. And hopefully this should mean Android isn’t always playing second fiddle to Apple and their App Store.