New Android Market on Computer

 

The android market is now available via a website on your computer. You can review apps/games then make purchases via the computer and send the app to your phone.

http://market.android.com/

God knows what took Google so long to make this!!

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/02/android-market-web-store-...

Just Looked

Took a look and IMHO it offers no more than the App Store. So far.

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Bob: My toys: Nüvi 1390T, Droid X2, Nook Color (rooted), Motorola Xoom, Kindle 2, a Yo-Yo and a Slinky. Gotta have toys.

might be helpful..

the whole "market" thing is a bit overwhelmong at times - a larger screen, etc. might help in app selection.

Quite nice

You're not the only one wondering "What took Android so long?" with this--I tended to use Androlib or AppBrain for searching for apps, now I can do it with the Market proper. grin

One nice thing--the PC version of the Market is actually a push app--in other words, you can tell it to install an app to your Android via the PC/web Market, and it'll install quite nicely on the Android. Saves me having to type in stuff (not that it's a real problem with the G2, but it does have a tinier keyboard than the desktop grin) or scanning in QR codes. grin

(This is also nice, incidentially, as the only other app I know that can be used to "push" apps similarly--AppBrain's Android app--has some things to be desired and not everything on the market is on AppBrain.)

Thanks for the tip.. It

Thanks for the tip.. It really gives you a chance to really check out the various apps..

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NickJr Nuvi 3597LMT

Permissions

One thing I'd like to mention about apps. Before you purchase an app you should always review its permissions and confirm they are appropriate for the app in question.

For example, if you're purchasing a game the game shouldn't need to access your contacts or log history.

Remember that android apps are not reviewed by google so its easy for dishonest people to put apps on the market. Just be cautious and use common sense.

Another market portal

For those who don't know

http://www.appbrain.com/

Had a lot of the features that are "new" in the official market long ago. It's not a separate market, it indexes the official Android market. It's still a better place to search the market IMHO, helpful to filter out a lot of the chaff. You used to e able to install direct to the phone from the appbrain web page, but Google defeated that function in the last market update. Obviously now, that was to reserve it for their own web based interface.

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Lost on LI

Some Permissions are quite cryptic

GadgetGuy2008 wrote:

One thing I'd like to mention about apps. Before you purchase an app you should always review its permissions and confirm they are appropriate for the app in question.

For example, if you're purchasing a game the game shouldn't need to access your contacts or log history.
...

Yes, very true, but some of these permissions are quite cryptic. There are 22 of them and many people don't know what they all mean. More info is available at that link:
http://techpp.com/2010/07/30/android-apps-permissions-secure...

Permissions

jale wrote:
GadgetGuy2008 wrote:

One thing I'd like to mention about apps. Before you purchase an app you should always review its permissions and confirm they are appropriate for the app in question.

For example, if you're purchasing a game the game shouldn't need to access your contacts or log history.
...

Yes, very true, but some of these permissions are quite cryptic. There are 22 of them and many people don't know what they all mean. More info is available at that link:
http://techpp.com/2010/07/30/android-apps-permissions-secure-private-data/

I use an app called Permissions by Christian Mehlmauer. While it can't be used to change permissions it (from AppBrain.com);

"Shows a list of Permissions and which apps are using them. Dangerous permissions are displayed in red.
When you click on an application, you will be redirected to the Application-Details screen."

The app is free and it doesn't require any Permissions.

Seconded vote for the Permissions app

Bogarts_Falcon wrote:
jale wrote:
GadgetGuy2008 wrote:

One thing I'd like to mention about apps. Before you purchase an app you should always review its permissions and confirm they are appropriate for the app in question.

For example, if you're purchasing a game the game shouldn't need to access your contacts or log history.
...

Yes, very true, but some of these permissions are quite cryptic. There are 22 of them and many people don't know what they all mean. More info is available at that link:
http://techpp.com/2010/07/30/android-apps-permissions-secure-private-data/

I use an app called Permissions by Christian Mehlmauer. While it can't be used to change permissions it (from AppBrain.com);

"Shows a list of Permissions and which apps are using them. Dangerous permissions are displayed in red.
When you click on an application, you will be redirected to the Application-Details screen."

The app is free and it doesn't require any Permissions.

Seconded in that this is a very good little "app auditing tool" for Android--I take care to check permissions of apps before installing them, but was able to use this to confirm everything behaved as it should and that programs I'd installed and updated weren't doing Unexpected Things behind my back.