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Mom, can I have some more spam with my Market

by Justin Palos on 26th Mar 2010 -

android market

Johnny – “Mom can I have another dollar?”

Mom – “What are you going to use that dollar for John-John?”

Johnny – “Well I like buying all the new random apps that simply open a link”

Mom – “GASP!”

Sound familiar? It might, it might not. One thing is certain though, with the lack of a solid approval process the Android Market is certainly gaining quite a few ::cough cough:: unusable apps.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for the submitting of an app and having it available for download almost immediately. However, I do not understand how developers can write an app that will claim to do one thing (such as be a facebook or twitter client) and then do nothing more than open up the link to the mobile site.

Do you think that the Market is taking a downward spiral? In all honesty, I love the market. I think it is a great place for users to make money if need be, but also that there needs to be a better approval process and rating system.

Oh yea…. a better way to sort or organize would be a nice help as well. hint hint…


About the Author

Justin is an avid Android user and all around techie. Over the years his passion for electronics of all kind has grown from an idea or two into a full blown hobby and past time. The Android trip started with a G1 and soon evolved through a few devices and is currently using Google's Nexus One as his primary device.

View Comments

  1. kathi17
    2010/03/26 at 10:20:27

    I don’t want to see an approval process, I think more organization is what we need. With the few categories we have now, it is really difficult to browse the market. I guess that is why appbrain came out, and sites like Cyrket are so popular.

    With better organization, we would be able to narrow down what is is we are really looking for and compare the apps to make our decision. (And there was a facebook app I used to have that did exactly what you said, only I found it rather useful as a shortcut to the facebook page right on my home screen. Sometimes I don’t mind those kinds of apps). I guess it depends on the user and their preferences.

    Also, there are a number of people spamming the comments section, posting links to other things in all of the comments. If enough people click spam on their comments, Google needs to give the spammers a time out, with a permanent ban if they come back and spam again.

  2. dotster
    2010/03/26 at 10:27:33

    Well at least there’s two things right away that help:

    1. 24-hour return policy
    2. Ratings

    If someone buys a bogus app, they would really get their refund right away and then rate the app with a comment saying why.

    Otherwise, using a crowd-sourced app directory like AppBrain.com helps filter through the crap.

    • Justin Palos
      2010/03/26 at 12:01:13

      The way the market is set up now, the comments and ratings all get “spammed” with users posting their twitter address, their own personal site address, or links to other apps and non-pertinent information.

      Cyrket is a great way to check out apps on the computer, but it is still basically a link to the market.

  3. chris
    2010/03/26 at 10:39:34

    Market does need a better way 2 sort and ppl are making to many “spam apps”

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