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Thursday, March 31, 2011

In-App Purchasing for Android by Google


It’s well-known that mobile application developers have had a harder time monetizing Android apps compared with iPhone apps as in-app purchases yield more revenue than mobile ads.

Now Google has released in-app billing for Android. It removed one more (big) stumbling block, much-needed by Android developers by bringing in-app purchases to the Android Market which will be source of revenue for them.

In-app purchases allow developers to release their software for free, in hopes of hooking users with new content or extra features to monetize their Android apps. iOS has had in-app purchasing since June 2009, helping app developers generate millions from virtual goods, in-game upgrades, content purchases and more.

The search giant pre-announced the feature at its Android Honeycomb event   to prepare developers for the change. Like Apple, Google will take a cut (approx 30%) from all in-app purchases.

This is a big move for Google as it tries to make the Android Market more hospitable for developers. Google says that several apps are launching with the new in-app billion system today, including Disney’s Tap Tap Revenge, ComiXology’s Comics and Glu Mobile’s WSOP Hold’em Legend.

Hopefully the release of in-app purchasing for Android will help close the gap and give developers more revenue streams for their hard work.

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