Google Adds In-App Subscription Support, Managed Through The Play Store

About a year ago, Apple debuted in-app subscriptions on its App Store - now Google is following suit with the introduction of in-app subscription support on the Play Store. Developers can take advantage of this system very easily, by simply adding a subscription option to their apps with a price and billing period (subscriptions will show up for users in their Play Store under a new category). Google takes care of the rest - all subscriptions are auto-renewing, and can be managed by users through the Play Store interface.

Bigger developers can utilize an HTTP support API to hook in-app subscriptions into backend enterprise servers for validation and cancellation (read: DRM), as well as to make multi-platform subscriptions easier to manage. For example, buying a subscription to a publisher's entire suite of services on a variety of apps through a single in-app purchase could be accomplished without the need for messy logins - download another one of the publisher's apps that grants access to premium features through the subscription, and it just works.

One of the first developers taking advantage of the HTTP API will be GluMobile, in the form of an in-game currency subscription (disgusting, I know) that can be used across all of the company's titles, without the need for a 3rd-party login or account management service. Nifty.

To learn more about in-app subscriptions, check out this Android Developer Blog Post.

Android Developer Blog

Comparison Between Google Play Store And Apple App Store Part 1

These days the hardware in the devices is pretty powerful and with them you can take advantage of many things. It is also true that no smartphone is complete without any single app installed in it because app defines how you use your smartphones daily.

The two most popular devices in the market are the IPhone and the various android phones. So the population is divided between apple and android users. Both the users rely on their respective app store to download the apps they need.

We have previously compared the devices from apple and android against each other and also we compared the advantages of having an android device rather than an IPhone. But in this post we will be comparing the app stores to see which one is better.

If you look at various statistical reports then you will notice that more than 50% of users own an android smartphone rather than apple device. But despite this staggering number more developers flock to the apple app store. The reason is simple because the developers know that apple users are willing to pay for their app.

The apple users have their credit cards on file and so they will pay more willingly for an app. The same app is available on android market as well but it is available for free or with an ad unlike the ones found in the apple app stores.

If you are an aspiring app developer and before you put your app on the either market you need to buy their membership. Either you develop apps individually or in a group or company for apple app store you need to pay $99 but for Google Play Store membership you just need to pay $25.

So as a result there is more number of free apps in the android market because the membership fee is less as compared to the apple app store where the majority of the apps are paid.

Apple offers their developer Xcode which is also used to code for their other devices such as MAC, IPad or IPhone and additionally the iOS webkit is restricted to using Objective C, C++ or JavaScript.

On the other hand Google has made its SDK free for any developer and it is compatible whether you are using Windows, Linux or MAC. The android SDK uses Java for coding which is much easier to work with and also C/C++ used for the apps to make them more interesting.

According to the latest research which is given by AppBrain which is one of the best website for finding out android apps claimed that are currently 430,000 apps in the Play store and from them 311,000 apps are available for free. That makes almost 72% of apps in the Play store for free.

On the other hand for Apple store there are 615,000 apps available from which 287,000 apps are free which roughly translates to only 46% of free apps. The minimum price of an app in the apple app store is $2.

So there you have a comparison between the two app stores stay tuned for more comparison between the two stores.

Comparison Between Google Play Store And Apple App Store Part 2

In our previous post we were comparing the two biggest app market in the world The Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Both of them have dominated the smartphone market because in this era no smartphone is complete without an app.

So read on to find out about the two stores.

If you have lots of apps, music and other files on your device then syncing and sharing them between other devices becomes a tedious job. Apple’s iCloud service does a fine job of keeping all your purchased entertainment needs synced across all your Apple devices just by logging in with your Apple credentials.

The same feature is also provided by Google’s Cloud service but Google have made sure to take it one step further by allowing you to download an app directly to your device via the desktop store. Just select the app and download and it will be installed directly on your phone. Now you don’t have to use your phone to select the apps you want.

The recent update of the Google play store presents on of the best app store interface ever. All the apps are neatly categorized and also you can swipe from left to right to best the different categories such as best paid, best free, highest grossing, best game apps, best widgets and much more. There are almost 27 categories you can browse through to see what is available.

Apple app store has been available for quite some time now and apple uses the same category as the play store to categorize their different apps. The difference between these two lies in the way they present what they have. Google have opted for vibrant and colorful pictures of the apps whereas apple has gone for the duller look.

Well if you have been following our last post about the comparison then you would know that there can’t be a true winner between the two app stores. The reason is simple. Apple has been around for quite some time which has allowed them to improve and earn a big user base.

If you are a developer and you want a more mature market where you can get good apps then apple app store is the market for you. More developers flock to apple ecosystem because of the security they provide.

But slowly the android market is attracting different developers from the apple ecosystem because of the sheer number of free apps that are available and moreover it’s cheap to gain the membership of the market. Given more time the play store will surely evolve more and beat the apple store in coming times.

The ultimate decision of which app store is better or which device is better is left to you. But there can’t be a true winner. So do let us know what you think of the comparisons and which store is better according to you.

Official 500px App Lands In The Play Store, Brings Amazing Photographs And A Clean Interface To Your Mobile

Those who dig the photography aggregation site 500px can finally enjoy all of its offerings on their mobile device, as the official 500px app is now available in the Play Store. The app is just as simple and elegant as the site itself, paying specific attention to highlight all of the work on display instead of offering an over-the-top interface.

  

Once the app is fired up, you have a grid of images available, and tapping on any image displays it in greater detail. Once the larger image is displayed, you can tap once again to get more info about it, including image name, photographer, rating, comments, and more. The app also offers the option to easily share the image over Twitter or Facebook, as well as open it directly in your browser.

A really nifty feature of this app is that it has built-in slideshow functionality, so it can basically turn your device into a digital frame that display all of the outstanding content featured on the site.

The 500px app is free in the Play Store, so hit the widget to grab it.

500px

[PRWeb]

Official 500px App Lands In The Play Store, Brings Amazing Photographs And A Clean Interface To Your Mobile

Those who dig the photography aggregation site 500px can finally enjoy all of its offerings on their mobile device, as the official 500px app is now available in the Play Store. The app is just as simple and elegant as the site itself, paying specific attention to highlight all of the work on display instead of offering an over-the-top interface.

  

Once the app is fired up, you have a grid of images available, and tapping on any image displays it in greater detail. Once the larger image is displayed, you can tap once again to get more info about it, including image name, photographer, rating, comments, and more. The app also offers the option to easily share the image over Twitter or Facebook, as well as open it directly in your browser.

A really nifty feature of this app is that it has built-in slideshow functionality, so it can basically turn your device into a digital frame that display all of the outstanding content featured on the site.

The 500px app is free in the Play Store, so hit the widget to grab it.

500px

[PRWeb]

Official 500px App Lands In The Play Store, Brings Amazing Photographs And A Clean Interface To Your Mobile

Those who dig the photography aggregation site 500px can finally enjoy all of its offerings on their mobile device, as the official 500px app is now available in the Play Store. The app is just as simple and elegant as the site itself, paying specific attention to highlight all of the work on display instead of offering an over-the-top interface.

  

Once the app is fired up, you have a grid of images available, and tapping on any image displays it in greater detail. Once the larger image is displayed, you can tap once again to get more info about it, including image name, photographer, rating, comments, and more. The app also offers the option to easily share the image over Twitter or Facebook, as well as open it directly in your browser.

A really nifty feature of this app is that it has built-in slideshow functionality, so it can basically turn your device into a digital frame that display all of the outstanding content featured on the site.

The 500px app is free in the Play Store, so hit the widget to grab it.

500px

[PRWeb]