Developers complain about Android sales

01.09.2009

Since the Market began accepting paid applications, developers have about a number of items that haven't yet changed. One is that the only way that users can buy applications is using Google Checkout, a payment system that isn't widely used. Developers want to be able to offer customers more payment options that they might find more convenient.

They may get other options in the future, although it's not certain when or in what form. In the terms of service that Android users must agree to before using the phones, Google says that it may make available various payment processing methods for buying products from the Market.

Larva Labs and other developers also complain about some other somewhat basic limiting features of the Market, such as a short maximum on how many characters a developer can use to describe their application and the inability to include a screenshot in the description.

In a follow-up on Tuesday, Larva Labs pointed to additional issues such as Google's policy of allowing users to refund an application for any reason within 24 hours. The "refund process is just too simple," one developer agreed in a Google forum thread titled

Developers say that users can too easily game the return policy. "If my plane is delayed and I get a solid two hours of enjoyment from a $3 jumpy game, I shouldn't be able to refund it 24 hours later," Larva Labs' John Watkinson argues in the Tuesday blog post.