Database Info

Illegal Pokemon Games Sold On Market

Who else is upset about this?
It's one thing to promote emulators on the Top Paid section... But stolen Pokemon games is another.
Google is currently promoting Pokemon Red and Pokemon Emerald in the Top Paid section of Arcade & Action Games. They each cost $2.99.
I have no problem with emulators, and I have no problem with "GPL" ports. Either seem legal to sell as well, when not provided with proprietary content, such as demos or freeware files to support the GPL engines. But completely proprietary games being sold? I think there's a huge problem with that. It's not like they're buried either. Their within the top 30 paid apps. And it seems quite obvious that Google re-arranges that list themselves at the start of every month.
I don't feel comfortable supporting such a huge corporation that permits and even promotes activities like this.
Not to mention that Mario clone. Mobile Andrio is it? Uses proprietary Nintendo sprites? Not as big of an issue but it is still illegal.
Open != Anti-Law

I doubt the top picks are hand picked. Probably some automated process using certain criteria

avgjoemomma said:
I doubt the top picks are hand picked. Probably some automated process using certain criteria
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While that may be the case, somebody at Google should be keeping an eye on that. The right things to do would be to send an email to market support, or whomever it may concern, and go to the app on the market, and report it!
I definitely share the viewpoint of the OP.
Edit: I've just gone through all his apps and reported them. They're all Nintendo games and he's selling them all to make a personal profit. I bet if Nintendo knew about this, they wouldn't be too happy. Hint hint.

Yeah, you should report them if you see them but I was just trying to explain to OP that it's not Google promoting the apps, it's just an automated process (most likely)

That's what you get when you can upload about anything to the Market
I reported all of the Pokémon games released by that Gaming something author, aswell as some other Super Mario games by the same author. Stated "Copyright infringement". Should get their attention

Well the last top list had 4 GangWars apps at the top? I've been watching every month. Also, Angry Birds being number one on day one? There's a reason Angry Birds makes 1 million $ month from Admob on Android... Because they specifically chose it as the top app. Same thing when Seasons debutted. They had a deal with Angry Birds to be an "Admob success story".
Either way, it definitely makes sense to me that someone at Google handpicked them as they only have 1-5000 downloads, and many, more higher performing apps, are far below it. I investigate the market like all day.
BTW the email of this guy is [email protected]
I found out a few things about him.
First off, he went to a baseball game with Zodttd: http://twitter.com/#!/zodttd/status/21505912283
Second off, he steals and rebrands crap on Cydia: http://macthemes.net/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=740518 http://www.macthemes.net/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=751022
I have no problems with Zodttd's emulators, in fact I support them. I think it's a great feature. However I have problems with ROM Buddy, which Google also handpicked.
I will be calling Nintendo's copyright infringingement report number tomorrow.
Also you gotta think about the 4 digits that this guy is making from this. It's unacceptable. And it's not like Google is gonna take his money and refund everybody.

But yeah, the main problem here is that these games aren't in "the back yard". They're right there up front representing the integrity of the market and Google itself.

I'd imagine it would be very easy to make it to the top list if you had a game that had a lot of downloads within a certain amount of time. I'm not sure how they do it but it's something to consider. I don't think Google's place is to censor apps or go through some BS "certification" process. I do expect them to make sure an app does no harm to the system or my information. If an app developer chooses to infringe on a copyright, the holders of that copyright should contact Google to remove the app. Users can also do this but I can imagine that would be a nightmare. Anyways, you've reported the apps and so have many others. I personally go through comments and report the spammers than try to get people to join the $9.99 all apps a year scam sites. We each do our own little part to keep the Market safe, no need to ask Google to go all Apple derp on it.

I don't feel like Google cleans the market at all. I don't feel like reports are read. And I don't feel like the 'mark as spam' does anything other than hide that user's rating from yourself.
The market is a disaster atm honestly. The mess just keeps growing every day.
And it must be Google's place to sensor it: it's THEIR store. Don't forget that Google is cashing in on 30% of this guy's profit.
As for reporting the copyright infringement properly via the webform, they state it is illegal to report it unless you are the copyright holder! Lol.
The Android market is pretty much the pirate bay, but instead of things being free and shared, they're sold. And look what happened to them? Going to jail. And they aren't even USA based.

What annoys me are the stupid "Boost the Cat" and "Shoot the Rabbit" games that keep popping up as just added every few days. It's not updates but some guy who keeps resubmitting these apps as new. I suspect he's also using fake accounts to rate these apps at 5 stars soon after a "new" release.

I didnt know so much Pokecrap existed in the Market.

avgjoemomma said:
I'd imagine it would be very easy to make it to the top list if you had a game that had a lot of downloads within a certain amount of time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. "Top" doesn't just mean tons of downloads, it also takes into account how quickly those downloads happen. If you jump up a few thousand downloads in a single day, especially if it was currently low (such as number of users has more than doubled or quadrupled), then yeah - "Top" qualification.

Choosing a Mobile Advertisers

Hey Guys,
I have a app developed that I have been charging for use, but i am thinking about switching to a ad model and make my app free. I was wondering what advertising options are out there.
I know that admob owns a pretty big market share, but was wondering what are my options regarding how best to choose an advertiser, what are the other advertisers I have to choose from, and is there a benefit of one advertiser vs. another? Which one would pay more? I know this is dependent on how popular my app is.
Thanks for any info provided!!!

I personally use AdMob in my app. It also integrates Google AdSense ads into your app for when AdMob doesn't have an ad to show. I only just released my app a few weeks ago, but it seems like it will generate a pretty decent revenue. I searched before I implemented AdMob, but I really didn't find anything else.
Ed

wow...so admob has a monopoly of sorts in the market eh? So people use admob or get no ad revenue at all?
What about for the apple iphone? I heard there was iAds, and I guess admob as well? Is one better than the other?

can anyone provide anymore insight, or know of a forum which is popular among android/iphone app developers to better answer my question? There don't seem to be that many app developers browsing these forums.
thanks!!!

Personally, i use admob and have 2 apps using it. I don't make much from it (usually around $0.20 a day) but it's better than nothing i guess
As for which ad company to use, it doesn't really matter. They all pay out roughly the same: Millennial, AdMob, JumpTap, MobFox, etc. It's just down to personal preference really

misc86 said:
Hey Guys,
I have a app developed that I have been charging for use, but i am thinking about switching to a ad model and make my app free. I was wondering what advertising options are out there.
I know that admob owns a pretty big market share, but was wondering what are my options regarding how best to choose an advertiser, what are the other advertisers I have to choose from, and is there a benefit of one advertiser vs. another? Which one would pay more? I know this is dependent on how popular my app is.
Thanks for any info provided!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you briefly say something about your app? Is it game and what kind?
How many downloads have you had so far?
When it comes to in-app ads the industry offers much more than just regular banners. There are other ad formats that deliver much higher cCPM than banners but their implementation depends on the kind of app you have.
I work for LeadBoltApps - our speciality is Content Locks for example; Ad mob is mostly banners; Airpush does Push Notifications and so on. Hope that helps.

My experience with Ad Networks
I have a weather app and needed to get ads going immediately at launch to fulfill my contractual obligations for the weather data provider.
I tried both Inmobi and Millennial Media. The problem with Inmobi is that they want to review your app and approve it for ads once it is up and available from the store.
Millennial Media was much easier to work with. Ads were running in my test app even before launch. There wasn't any manual approval hurdle to jump through.
I also tried to work with YP.com (AT&T Interactive) since my app uses location and they pay good rates for local ads. They wouldn't talk to me until I get 1M pageviews per month.

Alternatives to download official apps

Hi,
The vast majority of my apps come from F-droid and Github but a few ones can only be downloaded on the Google Play Store.
I don't have Google services on my device so I'm looking for a reliable tool/website to update those apps. I know Raccoon but a PC is required and I don't have one during the week.
I found APKpure a few weeks ago. Apparently all apps have to pass a signature verification so they guarantee safe downloads. It seems legit and I did compare the SHA1 of their apk and the one downloaded from Google Play. The apk hasn't been altered. One positive result doesn't mean that we can't have negative ones though
I don't like "mirror websites". The owner of apkpure, apkupdate and apkplz seems to be the same so it's more complicated for me to trust those sources. Why do they need all these websites? I didn't find any legal information BTW...
No paid apps can be downloaded on these websites so my only suspicion is that they could add malwares into some (famous) apps. Of course, original apps can also have malwares on Google Play.
For the record, I uploaded the few apks I downloaded to VirusToral and nothing has been detected.
Last but not least, Apkpure provides a dedicated app to install and update apps, which is great even if they suggest me new versions that aren't officially available yet. (probably related to a region restriction or a delay from Google to push the app update for all countries).
What do you think about these websites? Do you know a safer way?

I don't have google apps also, using apk pure for now, everything is well.

BlankStore should work for most free apps.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1715375

Wakamatsu said:
BlankStore should work for most free apps.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1715375
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I know but it uses Gmail IDs (with a connection to Google servers). Last but not least, the project is discontinued for several months.
I was going to give a try to Blankstore this weekend and it doesn't seem to be a reliable alternative in the medium term.

Primokorn said:
Yes, I know but it uses Gmail IDs (with a connection to Google servers). Last but not least, the project is discontinued for several months.
I was going to give a try to Blankstore this weekend and it doesn't seem to be a reliable alternative in the medium term.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@Primokorn ,
what about its alternative.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3217616
would really be interested in your opinion (if you look into it and dont mind ).
"err on the side of kindness"

Primokorn said:
Yes, I know but it uses Gmail IDs (with a connection to Google servers).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I created a throwaway gmail account for this but I get your point.
Primokorn said:
Last but not least, the project is discontinued for several months.
I was going to give a try to Blankstore this weekend and it doesn't seem to be a reliable alternative in the medium term.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's discontinued in the sense that he will not move further with that particular project in favour of another but he will still make fixes when a Google update breaks BlankStore function. It's been "discontinued" since version 0.7.1.

I have a old device just for this purpose.
It has no info on it
Everything possible has been removed that's not needed
(Like calender and contacts etc)
All it does is connect to Wi-Fi to get apps from Google play
Even paid apps.
And I harp non stop to developers and leave feedback on apps that don't support offline use.
(Is in app purchases, online verification, etc things that can be stored on device over getting from internet every time)
I don't see the point of getting apps elsewhere when they will do the same thing to you as Google..But with less oversight.
Virus checkers are pointless when apps are Trojans..
Or have them built in.
I consider any software that mines any thing from your device, without declaring exactly what it is doing every time, nothing other than a Trojan.
Google and it's partners will always push for a proprietary distribution system claiming it will keep you secure
When I'm truth what it does is you your money going to them
When I've had to I've gotten my apks from some very unusual places.
But then you can get some very bad software from very official places.

mrrocketdog said:
@Primokorn ,
what about its alternative.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3217616
would really be interested in your opinion (if you look into it and dont mind ).
"err on the side of kindness"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use microG framework for several weeks now
Wakamatsu said:
It's discontinued in the sense that he will not move further with that particular project in favour of another but he will still make fixes when a Google update breaks BlankStore function. It's been "discontinued" since version 0.7.1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't know that. Thanks for the heads-up! I wanted to give a try this weekend but I had serious with my laptop I keep that in mind for the next time.
nutpants said:
I have a old device just for this purpose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What an expensive alternative! I'm used to sell my current device to buy a new one and that's not handy IMHO.
nutpants said:
And I harp non stop to developers and leave feedback on apps that don't support offline use.
(Is in app purchases, online verification, etc things that can be stored on device over getting from internet every time)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Solutions exist for devs to not use Google Play online verification but they want to use it to punish users who download warez. Even if I can understand this point of view, we wouldn't have warez with FLOSS softwares.
nutpants said:
Google and it's partners will always push for a proprietary distribution system claiming it will keep you secure
When I'm truth what it does is you your money going to them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have done some fruitful research to prepare an article about GAFAM and other big companies. In addition, Google doesn't protect our freedom of speech (I noticed this many times with 'ordinary people').
Now that I clearly know what they did/do/will do, how could I still use their services?!? My next Android work will be published under GPL v3, I already stopped any operations on Google Play and I try to push devs to offer free/libre softwares. Marcel (M66B on XDA) is the perfect example of an awesome developer :good:

Primokorn said:
I use microG framework for several weeks now
What an expensive alternative! I'm used to sell my current device to buy a new one and that's not handy IMHO.
Solutions exist for devs to not use Google Play online verification but they want to use it to punish users who download warez. Even if I can understand this point of view, we wouldn't have warez with FLOSS softwares.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I rarely sell my devices, (i have 6 of 9 that I play with somewhat regularly sadly)honestly i keep the last one as a back up in case the new one has issues or a failure. And when I do think of it, it not worth the money to make it worth the time..
I still have my Windows mobile 2003 Siemens sx66
(Not that is have been turned on in years)
But really it's an investment in my security.
(And I no longer get the hottest newest devices asap anymore, that's a zero sum game that has few benefits beyond bragging rights)
My tablet dual boots between Google play only rom and everything else internet rom also.
I have yet to hear of a protection scheme that had not been broken in hours. I think bluray was the last major public disaster. If the time spent on protection was spent on quality assurance I think it would be a different landscape in the digital world.
Even with floss you have warez.. just in different forms. Mods,hacks, cracks, custom roms It all just words that describe one developer modifying others work without permission for features that are not present, either added or removed.
It's point of view.like anything.
Myself, I stand back and promote security,offline abilities and operation and open source.
It's where my money goes, my time and my vote. Every chance I get.

XDA: Focus on making independence accessible to android users!
@Primokorn: Thanks a zillion for starting this crucial discussion. I don't know how often i pointed out these issues.
Of course, i also have some aesthetic preferences. But diving through endless reefs of startup animation replacements, battery monitor alternatives and half-baked theme studies is not what i expected xda-developers.com to end up, 12 years after i started being around.
In my eyes, the whole aftermarket ado should be concentrated on maintaining the independency of the most popular mobile operating system of the universe by it's users. Crucial topics be
Liberating the app distribution architecture
Optimizing the permission restriction system
There are great approaches like the Aroma Installer, that have been employed to supply user friendly means for debloating and debranding. Have a look at the Screenshots of stockymod.
@nutpants:
And I harp non stop to developers and leave feedback on apps that don't support offline use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do the same thing to official institutions when they release apps. If i wasn't in that hyper-busy age around 40, i'd start a little riot about publicly funded software that ends up being published behind the wellknown golden cages exclusively. The necessity to change this in a grassroot movement is obvious.

Apkmirror.com

Did not know these existed, going to check this out!

How did you promote your App?

Hello,
It suddenly occurred to me, after years working on my game, that I'd not given one thought to promoting it.
Having browsed apps created in Gideros, they seem to have really good download numbers. Reading google,and checking lot mobile app promotion articles there's a lot of mixed information on promoting apps (along with a lot of services ready to charge a fee...)
I have worked a lot with Google Adwords in the past, and I'm considering this method as the traffic is such good quality. I've also had success using SEO to promote things online. So that could be a route.
What's your experience with getting the word out there?
I'd really appreciate any constructive criticism from you guys.
Thank you!

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The BIG problem with Open Source...

Making something Open Source is essentially a tool to crush innovation, and make developers lazy, so they are more like robots without a brain of their own.
It is an easy route to make some money by taking an open source library/ project, introducing ads, repackaging it with your own name and publishing it. Both the platform (e.g Google Play Store) and the developers are happy because they both get to make money without any effort.
The end result: Unhappy users and dumb developers!
Over the last 8 years or more, I have tried hundreds of apps in specific categories like File Managers, Gallery, Music Player, Video Player, etc. Yet I haven't found one that is PERFECT. Although 'perfect' is subjective, extremely few apps are worthy of applause.
If you search for Gallery apps on Google Play Store, you will get thousands of apps. Unfortunately, literally over half of them are identical and copycats of the Simple Gallery app. Rest are total garbage. Clearly, these apps are taking some easily (or freely) available library/ source, changing the name and signature, introducing ads, packaging them and publishing on Google Play Store under different developer accounts. It is quite possible that many of these apps are from the same developer who has several developer accounts. The number of copycats that are allowed to flourish on Google Play Store is simply unbelievable.
This kind of poor vetting by Google Play Store makes for a terrible user experience when people try out different apps, only to find that they all are exact replicas of each other. They are clearly violating the REPETITIVE CONTENT policy of Google Play Store where these apps have absolutely nothing of value to add. They are simply a source of ad revenue for the developers. Google probably doesn't mind that because they get 30% cut from those revenues.
As far as Gallery apps are concerned, there are literally less than 10 unique apps among thousands listed on Google Play Store. Much less actually. There is absolutely no thought/ love given when designing apps. Despite the versatility that Android supposedly offers, the interface, ease of access, features, etc leave too much to desire for.
That said, the question is 'Are Good Android apps very difficult to make'?

Making a good Android Apps is neither difficult nor easy. It requires a good understanding of the needs of the client in the app. And the rest is quality hard work.

nihitthakkar said:
Making a good Android Apps is neither difficult nor easy. It requires a good understanding of the needs of the client in the app. And the rest is quality hard work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about making apps for the market, and not specifically for a client?
As stated in the OP, most apps are pure garbage, or replica of other apps. In other words, no thought or concept, absolutely no love or attention to detail. The Play Store is just a hub to publish some garbage and make money out of it through ads.
Is the amount of effort required in making and maintaining an app too much relative to the money to be made from such apps?
Apps are end results of knowledge imparted in educational institutions. It is pretty clear that the good students don't make apps.

As with Gallery apps, the same is also true for File Managers, Music Players, Video Players, Browsers, etc.
It is easy to relate with Browsers because many are forks of Chromium. The same holds true for other types of apps too.
In any category, there are less than 10 unique apps (even lesser actually) and all the rest (in hundreds or thousands) are either copycats or pure garbage.
Sad and unfortunate truth.

The Google Play Store boasts of roughly 3 million apps today.
I bet there are less than 300 unique experiences (read: apps)! All the rest are copycats or pure garbage.

Making good apps requires a dedicated team and effort.
If you want good apps for yourself, either code them yourself or commission a developer to get it done. And don't expect it to work on all phones.
Because android device fragmentation is a massive problem.
And expecting app development from an Education Institution?
Thats most hilarious **** I have heard. Education institutions don't give 2 Fs about the commercial setup.

karandpr said:
Making good apps requires a dedicated team and effort.
If you want good apps for yourself, either code them yourself or commission a developer to get it done. And don't expect it to work on all phones.
Because android device fragmentation is a massive problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does that take away the opinion expressed in the OP?
Does it counter the fact that the Google Play Store is full of garbage apps?
Does it counter the fact that most apps are essentially replicas of each other?
Does it counter the fact that most apps are simple repackaging of open source resources with very little value to no value being added in the final product?
Does it counter the fact that open source resources are essentially a tool for incompetent developers to make money without any effort?
karandpr said:
And expecting app development from an Education Institution?
Thats most hilarious **** I have heard. Education institutions don't give 2 Fs about the commercial setup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you point me to where I said so?
You may want to read my comment again.

TheMystic said:
Does that take away the opinion expressed in the OP?
Does it counter the fact that the Google Play Store is full of garbage apps?
Does it counter the fact that most apps are essentially replicas of each other?
Does it counter the fact that most apps are simple repackaging of open source resources with very little value to no value being added in the final product?
Does it counter the fact that open source resources are essentially a tool for incompetent developers to make money without any effort?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You stated my opinion. I did mine.
1.) Your opinion. Not fact. There are lot of good unique apps.
2.) Yes and No. Garbage apps use better SEO and have higher visibility. Unlike iOS store ,Play store doesn't curate apps manually.
3.) No they are not. Lot of apps are restricted by System APIs enforced by Google. This is true for Camera and File Manager Apps
4.) Welcome to open source. That's it's selling point. You are free to compile your own version of apps if it bothers you
5.) No it is not. This is a very pigeonholed vision of open source.
Can you point me to where I said so?
You may want to read my comment again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TheMystic said:
What about making apps for the market, and not specifically for a client?
As stated in the OP, most apps are pure garbage, or replica of other apps. In other words, no thought or concept, absolutely no love or attention to detail. The Play Store is just a hub to publish some garbage and make money out of it through ads.
Is the amount of effort required in making and maintaining an app too much relative to the money to be made from such apps?
Apps are end results of knowledge imparted in educational institutions. It is pretty clear that the good students don't make apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This statement here.

karandpr said:
You stated my opinion. I did mine.
1.) Your opinion. Not fact. There are lot of good unique apps.
2.) Yes and No. Garbage apps use better SEO and have higher visibility. Unlike iOS store ,Play store doesn't curate apps manually.
3.) No they are not. Lot of apps are restricted by System APIs enforced by Google. This is true for Camera and File Manager Apps
4.) Welcome to open source. That's it's selling point. You are free to compile your own version of apps if it bothers you
5.) No it is not. This is a very pigeonholed vision of open source.
This statement here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. The 1st point was an opinion, and thats what I said. A 'lot' of good unique apps? 'Lot' could be subjective/ relative, but I would say that even that would be less than 1% of the number of apps available on Google Play Store. Over 99% apps on Google Play Store are garbage.
2. Okay.
3. I don't think you tried out enough apps. In the last one week, I must have tried atleast 50 Gallery apps, and over 70% of them had the exact same UI, Settings, bugs, etc. Some of them had completely misleading pictures on their app page too.
4. I wish I could.
5. With every generalized statement, there are almost always exceptions, and this is no different. So exceptions prove the rule. Give the quality of apps on Google Play Store and the fact that many of them are replicas of each other created from the same code base/ source, it only proves that open-source provided earning opportunities to incompetent developers way more than being a tool to not reinvent the wheel.
As with my statement on educational institution, you have misunderstood it. I said good students from institutions imparting coding knowledge don't make apps (with exceptions of course). That is very evident from the quality of apps we get to see (again obviously with exceptions). It is the lazy and incompetent lot that simply repackages a free resource without adding any value to it and then earn some money through ads.