Android Market, why the hassle to install?

[DigitalJanitor]

I'm new to the Android Tablet thing. I just got mine yesterday. Sorry if this is a stupid question - I've never been accused of being terribly brilliant but...

Why is there such a hassle getting the Android Market installed and once it gets installed why do some applications still not show up? Is it a licensing thing that they don't want you to run it or some technical reason?

Thanks!

 

[Sarge18]

Compatibility thing. Either with the tablet or with the software installed as part of the build. For example, Facebook for Android 1.6 does not show in the market, but I can download separate. So what it is recognizing in the market is a compatibility issue.

 

[gurgle]

There is actually a more fundamental reason. Android Market was only to be installed as an option if the product met the specifications for that version of Android. This in many instances required a Phone capability, GPS, ... Thus, it was never intended to be installed according to Google. That said, they never said you could not install it on your own with no warranty or support that it would work. You were to depend upon other products such as Amazon (new) or AppsLib (old) or unapproved sources (sideload).

Soooo, What has happened over the past year plus are kludgey to very seamless installs of Market for the various Tablet brands. There have been only a very few Tablets which are approved to have Android Market. Even then, they may need the Market "fix" to be able to see more than a limited number of products.

I cannot speak for Coby. But I bet they were not willing to pay the License to have Market installed or were compatible/capable according to Market specs.

 

[DigitalJanitor]

Thanks guys for spelling that out for me!

 

[beastman]

What's the difference in cm including google apps or me installing it separately as we have to do?
Sent from my GTablet using Android Tablet Forum