Thinking of getting and android device?

deadite66 · 5 Sep 2009 at 21:52

then check it has the Market app on the device.
a distinction should be made between the android aosp (android open source project) and a google phone.

while android is mostly opensource the market,gmail, maps and youtube apps are closed source. unless the phone is google blessed you be locked out of the vast majority of android applications.

if your buying an unlocked android phone from a shop make very sure it has the market.

i'm getting fed up of reading android forums and seeing angry/upset buyers.

GeX · 5 Sep 2009 at 22:40

unless the phone is google blessed you be locked out of the vast majority of android applications.

what are you basing that on? my HTC hero isn't a 'google' phone and it never even crossed my mind it wouldn't have market on it.

Berserker · 5 Sep 2009 at 23:22

It's a rather confusing post, but these are the situations I've heard about:

Non-'blessed' phone = No OTA (over the air) firmware upgrades. HTC Hero falls into this category.

'unlocked' phone = You may lose access to paid-for Android apps.

However, I don't know about the apps listed. They may come under the paid-for category as some/all are indeed closed source.

PS - users of non-'blessed', but otherwise legit phones may find they sometimes temporarily lose access to paid-for apps. This happened to some HTC Hero users on Orange. It was fixed.

deadite66 · 5 Sep 2009 at 23:24

for example this unlocked galaxy bought in the uk and doesn't have the market app.
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Android+Market/thread?tid=339896f4d9bf4e6d&hl=en

i've seen other threads on that forum from people in other countries who've bought a phone that don't have the market on them.

Berserker · 6 Sep 2009 at 00:02

That's not good - Android without the Market is like iPhone without the App Store. Wave bye bye to half the raison d'etre.

Caveat emptor I guess, though how you'd tell in advance is beyond me. This doesn't have anything to do with unlocked or non-'blessed' phones. Someone goofed - plain and simple.

molinari · 7 Sep 2009 at 12:41

Berserker said:
Caveat emptor I guess, though how you'd tell in advance is beyond me.

I was contemplating getting a Hero or Galaxy sim free from the off-shore website, but this has me worried about spending £400 and not getting the Market app :confused:

.

Abraham · 7 Sep 2009 at 12:50

molinari said:
I was contemplating getting a Hero or Galaxy sim free from the off-shore website, but this has me worried about spending £400 and not getting the Market app .

just ask the question first then you have comeback if it's not there. that thread linked above was the first I'd heard of it, can't imagine any network vendor would be selling them without market unless they're specifically saying they are (something like that in canada?)

ElliorR · 7 Sep 2009 at 12:56

I bought a HTC Magic from competitor and it worked fine with the Market. I also spoke to their customer services on the day I ordered it, it came the next morning at 0750, and they were great.

deadite66 · 7 Sep 2009 at 14:51

that link i posted was the first time i've seen that one without the market so close to home, before that its all been from foreign countries and they even bought theirs from the carrier.
i doubt any uk carrier would ship a device without the market but for unlocked/auction buys you should make sure the market is there.

GeX · 7 Sep 2009 at 18:37

flashing it to another ROM would solve it