Beginning this month, T-Mobile USA Android phone owners will be able to get paid apps in the Android Market billed directly to their T-Mobile account. At the Open Mobile summit earlier today, T-Mobile CTO Cole Brodman said that the carrier plans to make it easier for users to download paid Android apps and have the charge added to their monthly bill, a change that they hope to have in place by Thanksgiving.
The current method of getting paid apps requires users to sign-up for Google Checkout and link their account to a credit card. While this is obviously a minor hurdle , T-Mobile believes that carrier-billed app distribution is the easiest and most effective way to increase app purchases.
Google and T-Mobile hinted several months ago that it would add more billing options for Android users looking to purchase apps. The upcoming change will make it easier to tack app purchases onto a monthly phone bill. Back in my feature phone days, this was common place for people looking to get wallpapers and ringtones, so it makes sense that this option will come to apps.
[MocoNews]
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November 7th, 2009 at 4:06 am
I went with T-Mobile cellphone’s running Android because the scoop was it was an open source OS, and that the app’s were going to be free due to that fact. Now, just like cable TV’s original selling point way back when it was a new technology, that it would be commercial-free, now look at it…. 70% commercial 30% shows!! Just goes to show ya, the ‘marketing-machine’ pulls stuff over on us all the time!! (wording toned down as there could be young children reading this site!!). But the point is, the app’s were supposed to remain free. Now I know that developer’s would like to be paid for their work, but the Open Source Community, stated back in the beginning that the BIG draw factor for Android, was that the OS and it’s app’s would always remain free. Well it looks like we’ve been snookered again!!! Oh well, where’s my checkbook???!??!!!??
December 17th, 2009 at 3:23 am
"Open source" doesn't mean "free", it means that anyone can contribute from the mega companies to the lone coder in his dorm room.