A mere day after we discover that Android users in Japan will get an iPhone-like App Store to call their own, we get word that the Open Handset Alliance will be launching an official version as well.
Writing on the Android Developers' Blog, Google marketing manager for the platform Eric Chu said: "I'm happy to share early details of Android Market - an open content distribution system that will help end users find, purchase, download and install various types of content on their Android-powered devices."
No filtering
Although we still haven't seen any real Android phones, Chu says the new software-delivery mechanism won't have any of the content filtering used by Apple to sort out the iPhone software it approves from the stuff it doesn't like.
As for the name, he explains: "We chose the term 'market' rather than 'store' because we feel that developers should have an open and unobstructed environment to make their content available."
Same but different
If that's not a swipe at Apple and its notoriously protective attitude towards its own code and devices, we don't know what is.
Still, the OHA hasn't exactly been as open to date about Android as it might have been, much to the annoyance of would-be developers everywhere.
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jmace86
August 29th
1. But without any kind of approval system what is to stop people simply making viruses disguised as Android apps, putting them on the Android Market and having unsuspecting users download them.
I greatly prefer Apple's system, it may be a little less developer friendly but it is far safer for the users.
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