Statement on Googles’ “new” Android licensing system
We read with great interest Google’s announcement of a new licensing system for Android which was released yesterday and were surprised to find a number of similarities between the “new” Google system and the licensing system developed by us for use at AndAppStore which we offered to Google as a starting point for a cross-market licensing system in March 2009.
In early 2009 we developed an RSA secured licensing system for Android and made details of it available to the android community (one of the earliest posts about it can be found here). We could tell that it addressed an issue Android developers were facing and in late March 2009 we offered it to Google as a starting point for a cross-platform licensing solution which would allow developers to have write-once, use-anywhere licensing for their Android applications.
In early April 2009 we were told, by a member of the Android team, in a private email, that the Market team were “looking at a slightly different route”. We were disappointed, but we had hoped that the route would be open for use by third party Android application directories.
During the rest of 2009 the AndAppStore licensing system was used by developers and we saw some very positive public comments indicating the AndAppStore licensing system was considered a robust solution. During this time we also made it clear that the offer was still on the table for Google to work with us on developing the AndAppStore solution further.
Given this history it was with great sadness that we read the Google announcement yesterday that they chose to use the same RSA secured licensing design we developed a year and a half ago (and offered to them 16 months ago), provide some extra client-side functionality via a library (the LVL), make it a closed solution which is only available to apps distributed via their Market, and added a requirement that their Market client to be installed in the device in order to operate.
We would have hoped that a company such as Google, who like to promote “openness”, would, when working on solutions which could benefit all Andriod developers, would have worked with, and created something usable by, any group, such as AndAppStore, who are trying to promote Androids’ use, but alas it would appear this is not the case.
PortaPayments updated to allow creation of “Universal Codes”
In response to feedback from users Funky Android Ltd. have enhanced the PortaPayments service to facilitate the creation of “Universal Codes” which can be scanned and processed by any QR Code reader capable of forwarding users to a URL embedded in a QR Code.
The existing PortaPayments application has been updated to allow it to read and process the new Universal codes, but merchants are now free to recommend to customers any suitable QR code reader and if customers already have a suitable QR Code reader installed on their device they are not required to install any further software. The original PortaPayments QR Codes will continue to be supported and any merchant using them will not be forced to upgrade.
Universal codes can be generated via the PortaPayments website from today.
PortaPayments recommended download by Android Guys
We’re very pleased to see Android Guys recommend PortaPayments to Android users. There are a few things mentioned in the way of possible improvements, and we are, as always, happy to take those on board and look to include them in a future version of the app.
PortaPayments Launched
Funky Android Ltd. have launched PortaPayments, a system which allows PayPal payment requests to be printed on documents or dynamically created on electronic devices. The PortaPayments system encodes a payment request into a QR Code which is then scanned by the person wishing to make the payment.
PortaPayment codes can be printed on invoices, adverts, and used in other locations where PayPal payment requests previously could not be used. PortaPayment codes are created with details of the recipient and a description of the transaction which allows them to be re-used multiple times by multiple customers as opposed to current one-time fixed recipient requests. PortaPayments uses PayPals new adaptive API to allow multiple recipients to be included into a single PortaPayments code.
PortaPayments is an entrant in the PayPal X Developers Challenge, and the Android application can be downloaded from AndAppStore, the PortaPayments website, or Googles Android Market.
More information can be found on the PortaPayments website at www.PortaPayments.com or in the demonstration video below;.
Funky Android decide not to pursue legal action against Archos SA.
Funky Android Ltd. have announced that they are not going to pursue the available legal options over the alleged redistribution of confidential information. This decision is based on their concerns over the future of Archos SA.
More details can be found at http://press.andappstore.com/20100105-AndAppStore-Archos.pdf.
Funky Android provide Android OpenX Widget
Funky Android have continued their commitment to help developers monetize their applications by releasing a free, open source Android widget which can be used to serve adverts from the open source advertising management platform OpenX.
The widget allows developers to strike deals with sponsors and dynamically change their in-application adverts without needing to release a new version of their application.
Version 1.0 of the widget is now available from SourceForge.
New Head Office
Funky Android have moved offices to; 24 Clock House Rise, Coxheath, Maidstone, Kent, ME17 4GS, UK. We would be grateful if all business partners could update their records to reflect the new address.
Funky Expenses 1.2.6 Launched
The new version adds support for QVGA Android devices such as the HTC Tattoo.
Response to Archoses Press Release
Our response to Archoses press release over the AppsLib / AndAppStore dispute can be found at http://press.andappstore.com/20091106-AndAppStore-Archos.pdf
Highscreen Zeus ships with AndAppStore pre-installed
Vobis, a Russian provider of cellphones, has started shipping their Highscreen Zeus which comes with the AndAppStore client pre-installed.
The Highscreen Zeus is a compact Android device with a WQVGA screen, slide out keyboard, and support for Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, WiFi, and all of the major cellular standards. The device is targeted at the Russian market and to support this the AndAppStore client was modified to include a Russian translation of the user interface.
The AndAppStore client is a royalty-free client and is available to any company or group who wishes to pre-install it on their device or in their Android distribution. Funky Android can provide customised versions of the client if required.
