Get ready for Android to become a lot more popular with developers. In a move that may have several other interesting ramifications, as well, Android Market has finally made room for applications that aren’t free.
US- and UK-based developers are now allowed to submit applications for priced apps, and approved apps will be made available to consumers sometime next week. Support for priced apps in Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain is scheduled to follow before April 1st.
Developers will receive 70 percent of their apps’ revenue, which should make this a tempting opportunity for them. Consumers may not mind paying fees, either, since the idea is that developers who have so far ignored Android will create some amazing things. Google no doubt wants the whole process to then wind up driving Android adoption and become cyclical.
It looks like the search giant is trying to give Google Checkout a boost, too. A post on the Android Developers Blog states, “Google Checkout will serve as the payment and billing mechanism for Android Market. Developers who do not already have a Google Checkout merchant account can easily sign up for one via the publisher website.”
And of course, this whole arrangement was announced not long after YouTube started charging for downloads of some videos.
So Google appears to be heading in more than a few directions with the introduction of priced Android apps. We’ll keep an eye out to see how far the company gets.
