Carriers
Settle down, Canadians; Google is the one holding up your paid apps
December 28, 2009 | by Andrew Kameka
Rogers
Canadian Android fans have much to be angry about, but they may want to redirect some of that anger to its rightful place – Google. Though many Android fans have blamed Rogers for the lack of paid apps in Canada, Rogers has virtually no control over when paid apps will be available to its subscribers. The ball rests squarely in Google’s court.
Androinica readers frequently complain about being able to access only free applications in Canada, but Rogers isn’t to blame for that shortcoming. I have asked Rogers and Telus why they haven’t delivered paid apps to their subscribers and each gave me the same reply: That’s up to Google.
A Rogers Community Member, responding to a question sparked by another customer controversy, said that Google must enable paid apps in Canada. I asked Telus why their customers have only free apps and a PR rep responded, “Telus isn’t blocking anything from a carrier’s perspective,” before echoing the statement that Google holds all the cards.
After a bit of prodding, I was finally able to find a Google spokesperson willing to comment on this issue. Unfortunately, Google will not provide a timeline for when Canadians will get paid apps and they will not reveal exactly what is causing the hold-up.
Android Market connects users and developers worldwide. When we add paid apps support for developers in a new country, we enable them to sell apps in many different countries. Similarly, when we add support for users, they’re able to purchase apps from developers in many different countries. As such, there are many factors that come into play to make sure the selling and purchasing processes run smoothly. It takes time to bring support to more countries, which is something we are working hard to do.
Long story short: Canadians will do some more kicking and screaming for the foreseeable future. I can understand that frustration, especially since Japan got paid apps within a few months of the first Android phone being available in that country. By comparison, Canadians have waited half of 2009 for that privilidge and still have no clue when – or if – they’ll see paid apps in 2010. That’s an additional slap in the face to people already ticked off by the lack of updates to their phones.
These are the only countries with access to paid apps:
Australia
Austria
France
Germany
Italy
Japan
Netherlands
New Zealand
Spain
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States
I am a frustrated customer, thanks for the info.
I been able to buy a Android phone in Canada, the others can probably be pirated…
Sucks to be them I guess.
That list of countries didn't grow much (if even grew at all) in the last months, and Google has served us the same story since months as well.
Dear Androinica, I thought you would at least be a bit more hard to that Google Spokesman and would get a more valid answer to this stupid Market situation that forces all to become hackers in order to get access to paid apps.
Dear Androinica, please go back to your Google Spokesman and try him to explain us :
- which we have to become hackers (root our systems, etc) in order to get access to paid apps
- why new potential customers should not better buy an iPhone as at least they will be garanteed to be able to buy paid apps, on a mature app market.
I did not accept that statement at first. I asked follow-up questions but the person refused to budge and said they could not release anymore information or specifics. Google seems content to just make people wait, which is a bad strategy. Like you said, people are going to opt for an iPhone under these circumstances.
Andrew,
Thanks for your feedback.
This could be because Google puts much less focus on the Android Market than they put on mobile ads… In fact, I'm pretty sure Google doesn't care too much about Android being a success or not. All they needed was a buzz machine that would help increase mobile traffic = increase mobile ads revenue. All of the remaining (Android Market, etc) is just a bonus, but not the primary focus.
Still, there are tons of end users out there who have bought an Android device and feeling fucked about the way Google treats them at the end. At least, at the very very least, an honest situation would be to write on the phone's boxes something like "only free apps available in Android Market" in countries which do not have access. That would be at least a legal situation, ie letting know to your users a priori to their acquisition what they are in fact really buying.
I see some comments below such as "it's just a phone". OK, but it still is about 300 bucks, and as consumers or customers people have the right to be completely informed about what they are buying which Google is failing to do (sure, they will argue they do not build and sell the phones….. but…). The craziest of all is that I encounter many, many people who are just telling things like "but it's OK, I can at least get free apps". Man, this is really driving me insane : we have reached the point where consumers are just that : consumers. Not even more considered like customers, but only consumers. And consumers who are so happy to consume a Google product they are ready to sacrifice their consumer's rights. In fact, the same people who would be mocking Apple's fan boys… are Google's fan boys !
Finally, because of this stupid Google position, we create more hackers. Simple thought : I can't get access to paid apps, but I want them because I've acquired the phone who was supposed to propose them to me. So I hack my phone to install "MArket Enabler", or, as I encounter more and more, I find hack sites where I can download hacked paid applications for free. Then you see developers on the Google's Android groups asking themselves why people are hacking their softwares… And, while I've now started hacking Android softwares, why shouldn't I also start to hack or download pirated contents for other things… ? In fact, Google is pushing people to piracy. OK, I'm exaggerating a little. But only a little…
Anyway, my most happy day will be when I'll see an Apple iPhone ad on TV or on the net mocking Google Android for this stupid Android Market restrictions. I'm convinced they will make a big hit with this one
Oh, and it's not a country only problem. Here in Spain, we've paid apps support true? Well, it depends on what's your operator. For example if your SIM card is from SIMYO you cannot access the paid apps in the market. Switch the SIM to Movistar (for example) in the same terminal and you have paid apps.
The funny part is that it broke sometime this summer, before the cut in the service you had paid apps with SIMYO too but for some reason we got banned and here we are.
Wow, and I thought the iPhone had problems Android could solve … seems that's only true if you live in the US, like Google Voice solves cell phone portability. Imagine if Gmail or Google were US only — people would go nuts. So why make an exception for telephony? Reminds me of how until the latest iTunes 9 updates, you couldn't buy Ringtones here in Canada for your iPhone. Took them a year, and they still don't have any good tunes. And where's our Netflix or CableCard?
I think I'll buy the Nexus One / Android 2.1 Google Developer phone for $399 US or whatever price it is, unlocked … Maybe I'll get better support that way 
My recent post TTC Mobile v1.1 Now in App Store!
I have own my HTC Hero for almost half a year soon and still i can't buy apps on market. It's not like I live in some small shitcountry somewhere, I live in Sweden and Google got a office here so what's the hold up.
The only thing that I am more dissapointed about than paid apps is still being stuck with 1.5 (thanks HTC). But somehow i still manage to love my Android phone.
I’m an early adopter with rogers, and honestly the moment back in august 2009 they announced there was to be an ‘unknown delay’ in getting out a critical security patch, they had lost me as a typical customer. It was cinched when the patch did finally appear that would alter they phone to make it trickier to root. Add to this the market fiasco, and I rooted my phone immediately. I can not only get the market(sign up with google checkout, get market enabler), but my magic is far faster with new features being added constantly. Its not hard to do, its not illegal,and if you’re careful you can always go back. I do understand the frustration for non-technical users, however. Google, rogers and HTC are only hurting themselves in this scenario.
For Christ's sake.. when it comes down to it.. it's just a phone!
Happy owner of a modified HTC Magic (Hero ROM & paid apps in Germany)
I agree. I have a HTC Dream/G1 since last year and very happy with it. It was rooted immediatly and it's quite some time I'm using Cyanogen's MODs as they do add many interesting features + make my G1 much faster.
But, when I think about "what next after my G1" (a Tegra or Zii Cell-based Android smartphone), I always have to think about this future phone being rootable or not. Can you imagine where we have landed ? Making an Android smartphone choice based on the fact that's it's rootable so you can at least buy (or re-install) the apps you WANT to pay for ?
Even though canadians don't have access to paid apps, I'm pretty sure most people here know how to work around this "problem".
A FR-CA
there is a work around…if you manage to unlock your android phone (htc hero's and rogers android phones can be unlocked for approx 6$ on ebay bell customers you can pay Bell 75$ after your 30 days) and get your hands on a tmobile sim card activated or not, you can insert it in to your phone and purchase the apps over wifi. i've done it
I tried something similar as well and it works. I'm in Singapore and get only free apps but I slotted in my Australian 3 sim card (in Singapore) and managed to buy apps too.
I was going to buy and "Android" phone, after reading this article and a few forums it will be a log time before I purchase any phone that is running Android.