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Paid apps

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  Paid apps Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2024-09-30 17:28 +0100
    Re: Paid apps Andrew <andrew@spam.net> - 2024-09-30 20:17 +0000
    Re: Paid apps VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> - 2024-09-30 18:23 -0500
      Re: Paid apps Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2024-10-01 07:07 +0100
        Re: Paid apps VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> - 2024-10-01 02:06 -0500
          Re: Paid apps Andrew <andrew@spam.net> - 2024-10-01 21:21 +0000
            Re: Paid apps "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2024-10-01 23:31 +0200
              Re: Paid apps Andrew <andrew@spam.net> - 2024-10-02 01:49 +0000
                Re: Paid apps "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2024-10-02 13:22 +0200
                Re: Paid apps micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> - 2024-10-17 11:58 -0400
              Re: Paid apps Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2024-10-02 05:06 +0100
                Re: Paid apps "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2024-10-02 13:07 +0200
                Re: Paid apps Andrew <andrew@spam.net> - 2024-10-02 18:52 +0000
                  Re: Paid apps Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2024-10-02 20:04 +0100
          Re: Paid apps Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2024-10-02 19:58 +0100
    Re: Paid apps "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2024-10-02 13:37 +0200
      Re: Paid apps Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2024-10-02 13:19 +0100
        Re: Paid apps "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2024-10-02 14:51 +0200
          Re: Paid apps Andrew <andrew@spam.net> - 2024-10-02 19:08 +0000
            Re: Paid apps Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> - 2024-10-02 20:32 +0100
              Re: Paid apps Andrew <andrew@spam.net> - 2024-10-02 19:46 +0000
          Re: Paid apps micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> - 2024-10-16 01:31 -0400
        Re: Paid apps Andrew <andrew@spam.net> - 2024-10-02 19:03 +0000
      Re: Paid apps VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> - 2024-10-02 07:31 -0500
        Re: Paid apps "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2024-10-02 14:59 +0200
        Re: Paid apps Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2024-10-02 13:43 +0000
          Re: Paid apps "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2024-10-02 18:39 +0200
            Re: Paid apps Andrew <andrew@spam.net> - 2024-10-02 19:27 +0000
          Re: Paid apps Andrew <andrew@spam.net> - 2024-10-02 19:27 +0000
        Re: Paid apps Andrew <andrew@spam.net> - 2024-10-02 19:11 +0000
      Re: Paid apps Andrew <andrew@spam.net> - 2024-10-02 18:58 +0000
      Re: Paid apps sms <scharf.steven@geemail.com> - 2024-10-17 21:14 -0700
    Re: Paid apps Dave Royal <dave@dave123royal.com> - 2024-10-02 14:09 +0100
      Re: Paid apps "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2024-10-02 18:44 +0200
        Re: Paid apps Dave Royal <dave@dave123royal.com> - 2024-10-02 18:18 +0100
    Re: Paid apps Nil <rednoise9@rednoise9.invalid> - 2024-10-10 21:09 -0400

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#143561 — Paid apps

As google are offering me 95% off a item from the play store, has anyone 
got any recommendations for paid for apps (not games/films)?

I can't think of any I've been putting-off buying ...

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#143563

Andy Burns wrote on Mon, 30 Sep 2024 17:28:26 +0100 :

> As google are offering me 95% off a item from the play store, has anyone 
> got any recommendations for paid for apps (not games/films)?
> 
> I can't think of any I've been putting-off buying... 

Hi Andy,

I like to help people, especially people like you who help others.

The "Skyica App Finder" is, by far, the *best* Google APK search app.
 <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=scadica.aq>

I can't even begin to list all the great features that the founder added,
some of which are because of me (e.g., you can put the entire URL in).

The regular expressions search is, for those in the know, excellent.

I worked intimately with the developer to test it for him a year ago.
It is, by far, the best Google APK search engine on this planet.

It used to be free; but I think it costs money now. Let me check.
Ah, I see what he did. He says "Some advanced features require a small
in-app purchase, a free trial is available" so we'd have to look to see
which those are because, I think, I get all the features for free.

I'm not really sure, actually, as I get my updates NOT from the play store.
 <https://skyica.com/appfinder/get>

But that's because the "regular" app won't work for me, where this is the
note that the developer sent me when he first switched it to ask for money.

 Since Google Play's billing system is not available
 on your device, you can currently use all features
 for free without ads.
 However, if App Finder is useful to you, we kindly
 ask for payment according to your means.
 Please see the Settings menu to make a payment
 at any time.
 Thank you!
 Konrad S. 
 Founder and CEO of Skyica LLC

Let me "think" of any other app I'd want to pay for (not that I can pay for
an app, since I turned off the Google Billing System)... as there are
plenty of payware apps (such as OSMAnd+) which are free on F-Droid.

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#143564

Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:

> As google are offering me 95% off a item from the play store, has
> anyone got any recommendations for paid for apps (not games/films)? 
> 
> I can't think of any I've been putting-off buying ...

Is that Google offering the discount, or the app author(s)?  Google only
gets a commission on sales.  They cannot change prices the app authors
mandate.  The app authors monetize their apps.  A slice of that goes to
Google.  Besides the initial $25 registration fee to get an app added to
the Play Store, Google's commission can be up to 30% which goes down to
15% after a year.  Even if Google decided to momentarily drop their
commission on app sales, that would only drop prices to 70% to 85%, not
down to 5% (with a 95% drop).

https://play.google.com/store/

I didn't see a banner or ad from Google claiming they could undercut
prices asked by app authors.  Google could work with select app authors
to get the app authors to momentarily reduce prices for some sale event.

Maybe there is some sales event hosted by Google where the app authors
still get their contracted price, Google temporarily discards their
commission, and Google temporarily refunds (subsidizes) the app authors
the difference in price.

App authors can run pricing experiments trying to find out how much the
market will bear, and determine a sweet spot on pricing.  But that's the
app author's decision, not a global decision forced across all app
authors, and Google isn't involved other than to get their commission.

https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/13343030?hl=en

So, where did you see Play Store apps were getting forcibly reduced for
all apps to 95% of their prior price?  I'm sure other Android users
would like to know the official Google announcement or their sales
event.

Maybe it's just you they are offering a 95% drop in price, like they
sent you a coupon as a lure to buy more than the coupon offers.  It's
why grocery stores and product makers offer coupons: they want you to
get lured to buying, and hope you buy more.  If you got an e-mail saying
you get 95% off, you sure it came from Google?

Considering the apps for which I've paid are pretty cheap in price, like
a couple dollars, a 95% reduction wouldn't have much lure to me.  I'd
save all of a nearly couple dollars.  If I was that tight on money, I
wouldn't be buying any apps, and couldn't even afford the cellular
service for the phone.

Google's Play Store does not let you build a wish list of stuff you
think you might buy one day.  So, sorry, I don't have a wish list for
you, plus what I'd want is not likely to match what you want.

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#143567

VanguardLH wrote:

> where did you see Play Store apps were getting forcibly reduced for
> all apps to 95% of their prior price?  I'm sure other Android users
> would like to know the official Google announcement or their sales
> event.
They're not unilaterally changing the price of apps, but they can give 
whatever discount they like (out of their pocket rather than the author's)

<http://andyburns.uk/misc/play-discount.png>

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#143568

Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote:

> VanguardLH wrote:
> 
>> where did you see Play Store apps were getting forcibly reduced for
>> all apps to 95% of their prior price?  I'm sure other Android users
>> would like to know the official Google announcement or their sales
>> event.
>
> They're not unilaterally changing the price of apps, but they can give 
> whatever discount they like (out of their pocket rather than the author's)
> 
> <http://andyburns.uk/misc/play-discount.png>

Okay, for some apps Google reduces their commission.  That means the
discount cannot be larger than Google's commission which ranges from 30%
the first year, and 15% thereafter.  So, I can't see how Google could
discount an app more than 30% - nowhere near the 95% discount.  They
could omit their commission, and offer the app author a payment for the
rest which what the coupon you show probably does, but only for 1 app,
and a max of 6 pounds total for the discount.  That means you could get
one app that normally costs 6.32 pounds at the special 6 pound price.

I just checked my history of purchases (not many) which cost me (in US
dollars):

Talented Apps ParKing ($6.98) - abandonware for a couple years now
Network Cell Info & Wifi ($2.14)
GPS Status Pro ($2.14) - they now want $13.99
Torque Pro ($5.32) - use with OBD2 in my car for diagnostics

That's it for paid apps.  Since I already paid for them, I can't use
this 95% discount.  When I have a need is when I hunt for an app.  I
wouldn't know what to search for an app that I don't need just to save
some money on an unnecessary app.

Back when I bought those apps, I had to add money to my Google Pay
wallet.  Google Pay died on June 4, 2024, and why my "Payments &
subscriptions" info on my Google Play account shows "Google Pay balance
- Unavailable".  I would have to add one of the following payment
methods:

credit/debit card
Paypal
Cash App Pay
Redeem code

Well, I'd rather not let Google have any payment methods, especially
since they don't have payware in their Play Store that I need now.
Usually I can find freeware apps that are devoid of ads, or the ads are
hidden (you have to dig for them to explicitly view them).

The reason why you got the notice, and not I or others, is the following
condition: "Open to select participants based on their purchase
history".  My purchase history is so old and measly that Google will
never be sending me that discount.  Interestingly it also says "Google
Payments account required", yet Google Pay is dead.

Trying to get suggestions on buying something because you might get a
big discount reminds me of the comedy skit where the husband comes home
to find bags of dry dog food in the kitchen, and asks why there are bags
of dog food.  Wife says there was a huge sale on dog food.  Husband
remarks "But we don't have a dog."

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#143573

VanguardLH wrote on Tue, 1 Oct 2024 02:06:37 -0500 :

> Talented Apps ParKing ($6.98) - abandonware for a couple years now
> Network Cell Info & Wifi ($2.14)
> GPS Status Pro ($2.14) - they now want $13.99
> Torque Pro ($5.32) - use with OBD2 in my car for diagnostics

I had already written up this note below for Andy, waiting for him to
respond but looking at Vanguard's nice list, I simply note we've discussed
some of those apps before & they all have free or open source alternatives.

Last time I mentioned that, Vanguard got into a fit of discomfort, trying
to say who copied whom in terms of source code so I will leave it at that.

However, one of those apps is on the list I was gonna send Andy, but it
assumes Andy works on his car (which we don't have any knowledge he does).

Here's what I wrote after I had posted my first response, which was waiting
for Andy to respond - but I'll post it here to help Andy out if I can.

Andrew wrote on Mon, 30 Sep 2024 20:17:35 -0000 (UTC) :

> Let me "think" of any other app I'd want to pay for (not that I can pay for
> an app, since I turned off the Google Billing System)... as there are
> plenty of payware apps (such as OSMAnd+) which are free on F-Droid.

Looking at my APK test log, there are second-phone-line apps that cost
money. For example Sideline apparently uses your carrier to give you a
second number somehow...(by magic?) without an Internet connection.
 <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sideline.phone.number> 

Looking at my log, the last time I tried chatgpt, it cost money to speak.
 <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ai.chat.gpt.app>

Of course, there's PhoNews Pro but I think there's a free build somewhere.
 <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cmgapps.android.phonewspro>
But between you, me and everyone else, we know Android newsreaders suck.

Looking through my logs for "failed" APKs due to money, I find this one
 *Torque Pro (OBD 2 & Car)* by Ian Hawkins, $5 payware
 $5,noads,req gsf,rated 4.1star in 76.4K reviews w/ 1M+Downloads
 <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.prowl.torque>
It's the canonical OBDII reader that almost everyone uses for their cars, 
but of course, I use only the free version so I don't know pro features.
 *Torque Lite (OBD2 & Car)* by Ian Hawkins, Contains ads
  free,has ads,req gsf,rated 3.6star in 50.5K reviews w/ 10M+Downloads
  <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.prowl.torquescan>

Unfortunately I don't usually log the failures, and a failure is anything
that asks for money to work, so I must have just accidentally noted those
apps that I tested needed money to work as advertised (without ads).

Given I've never in my life paid for an Android or iOS app, it will be
interesting to see what apps people recommend that must be paid for, since
it's my current assessment that almost everything you want, will be free.

You just have to be intelligent about finding it (which I'm sure you are).

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#143575

On 2024-10-01 23:21, Andrew wrote:
> 
> Given I've never in my life paid for an Android or iOS app, it will be
> interesting to see what apps people recommend that must be paid for, since
> it's my current assessment that almost everything you want, will be free.

Sleep for Androids.

-- 
Cheers, Carlos.

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#143581

Carlos E.R. wrote on Tue, 1 Oct 2024 23:31:54 +0200 :

>> Given I've never in my life paid for an Android or iOS app, it will be
>> interesting to see what apps people recommend that must be paid for, since
>> it's my current assessment that almost everything you want, will be free.
> 
> Sleep for Androids.

I'm completely different than most people because I care to help, so you'll
almost never see me suggest an app without a URL to that app, not only
because I'm intelligent enough to know there are often duplicates, but also
because I'm compassionate enough to realize doing so helps others find it.

Carlos is neither, but let's move forward and not let his rudeness stop us
from finding payware app functionality for Andy Burns that has no free APK.

Presumably that's an app functionality that's not free that is useful,
right? If so, then Andy Burns might want to know about it to buy it.

As for me, I never heard of it, so allow me first to google what it does.

I can't easily find in the first page of hits "Sleep FOR Android" but there
are plenty of hits for "Sleep AS Android", so I'll assume that's the app.

  "Sleep as Android enables you to use the phone's microphone and 
   speaker as a sonar (for range and movement detection using ultrasound)"
  <https://docs.sleep.urbandroid.org/sleep/sensors.html>

But wait a minute... it's also for "sleep tracking" from the same app!
  "Sleep tracking is a way to objectively measure 
   the quality of your sleep."
  <https://docs.sleep.urbandroid.org/sleep/sleep_tracking.html>

Since that's two completely different functionalities, and since I don't
want to waste my time finding the wrong app functionality, which is it?

Which of the features are you suggesting Andy Burns would want to pay for?
Or were you thinking of a different app?

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#143586

On 2024-10-02 03:49, Andrew wrote:
> Carlos E.R. wrote on Tue, 1 Oct 2024 23:31:54 +0200 :
> 
>>> Given I've never in my life paid for an Android or iOS app, it will be
>>> interesting to see what apps people recommend that must be paid for, 
>>> since
>>> it's my current assessment that almost everything you want, will be 
>>> free.
>>
>> Sleep for Androids.
> 
> I'm completely different than most people because I care to help, so you'll
> almost never see me suggest an app without a URL to that app, not only
> because I'm intelligent enough to know there are often duplicates, but also
> because I'm compassionate enough to realize doing so helps others find it.
> 
> Carlos is neither, but let's move forward and not let his rudeness stop us
> from finding payware app functionality for Andy Burns that has no free APK.

Any intelligent Android user knows how to use the Play Store to search 
for applications, and any polite person will ask for further info if 
this is not enough, without insulting.

Sleep as Android from Petr Nálevka (Urbandroid)

https://play.google.com/store/search?q=sleep%20as%20android&c=apps&hl=en

You can read the comments by other users in Google Play and find out why 
this is a good app. And you can test it for free, for a limited time.

> 
> Presumably that's an app functionality that's not free that is useful,
> right? If so, then Andy Burns might want to know about it to buy it.
> 
> As for me, I never heard of it, so allow me first to google what it does.
> 
> I can't easily find in the first page of hits "Sleep FOR Android" but there
> are plenty of hits for "Sleep AS Android", so I'll assume that's the app.
> 
>   "Sleep as Android enables you to use the phone's microphone and   
> speaker as a sonar (for range and movement detection using ultrasound)"
>   <https://docs.sleep.urbandroid.org/sleep/sensors.html>

This one.

> 
> But wait a minute... it's also for "sleep tracking" from the same app!
>   "Sleep tracking is a way to objectively measure   the quality of your 
> sleep."
>   <https://docs.sleep.urbandroid.org/sleep/sleep_tracking.html>

Same one.

Notice that tracking does not imply sharing with the cloud. That part is 
voluntary.

> 
> Since that's two completely different functionalities, and since I don't
> want to waste my time finding the wrong app functionality, which is it?
> 
> Which of the features are you suggesting Andy Burns would want to pay for?
> Or were you thinking of a different app?

-- 
Cheers, Carlos.

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#143721

In comp.mobile.android, on Wed, 2 Oct 2024 01:49:19 -0000 (UTC), Andrew
<andrew@spam.net> wrote:

>Carlos E.R. wrote on Tue, 1 Oct 2024 23:31:54 +0200 :
>
>>> Given I've never in my life paid for an Android or iOS app, it will be
>>> interesting to see what apps people recommend that must be paid for, since
>>> it's my current assessment that almost everything you want, will be free.
>> 
>> Sleep for Androids.
>
>I'm completely different than most people because I care to help, so you'll

So you keep saying.  Why this need to strut so much?  But you are not
completely different from most people.  Almost everyone wants to help.  

Many people also want to show how smart they are, how much they know,
but they do it by helping people. 

>almost never see me suggest an app without a URL to that app, not only

Most people include a url.  Most people on Usenet go farther to be nice
than I thought they would, than I thought they needed to, when I started
reading it, so I began to usually do the same.  When people don't
include a url it's likely because they no longer have it handy. They're
talking about something they read days or years ago. 

>because I'm intelligent enough to know there are often duplicates, but also
>because I'm compassionate enough to realize doing so helps others find it.

Everyone knows that giving the url is helpful and except for the easily
identified trolls, everyone is helpful. Get over yourself
>
>Carlos is neither, 

Carlos is very helpful.  I make a point to read his posts becasue they
are some of the best.   OTOH, I haven't identified compassion in any
poster here.  We don't discuss lost pupplies, sick babies, or any sort
of tragedy here, so I don't see any way to find compassion in a poster
here, including you. 

And I wouldn't be crticising you above if you hadn't attacked Carlos for
no good reason.  I've been tempted before but I always let it go. But
other times you were just strutting, not dumping on someone else for no
good reason.  His post was only 3 words long and none were offensive. 

>but let's move forward and not let his rudeness stop us

Get it straight: It is not rude to give the name of an app without the
url. One could call it incomplete, but posting the name without the url
is better than not posting it at all. People don't have extra time to
hunt for urls.  Would you rather someone not post the name at all if
they didn't know the url?  I would not prefer no name at all, but that's
what you seem to be saying.  It is rude to step on someone's foot
without saying "I'm sorry". 

Micky. 

>from finding payware app functionality for Andy Burns that has no free APK.
>
>Presumably that's an app functionality that's not free that is useful,
>right? If so, then Andy Burns might want to know about it to buy it.
>
>As for me, I never heard of it, so allow me first to google what it does.
>
>I can't easily find in the first page of hits "Sleep FOR Android" but there
>are plenty of hits for "Sleep AS Android", so I'll assume that's the app.
>
>  "Sleep as Android enables you to use the phone's microphone and 
>   speaker as a sonar (for range and movement detection using ultrasound)"
>  <https://docs.sleep.urbandroid.org/sleep/sensors.html>
>
>But wait a minute... it's also for "sleep tracking" from the same app!
>  "Sleep tracking is a way to objectively measure 
>   the quality of your sleep."
>  <https://docs.sleep.urbandroid.org/sleep/sleep_tracking.html>
>
>Since that's two completely different functionalities, and since I don't
>want to waste my time finding the wrong app functionality, which is it?
>
>Which of the features are you suggesting Andy Burns would want to pay for?
>Or were you thinking of a different app?

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#143582

Carlos E.R. wrote:

> Sleep for Androids.

Do you mean the sleep tracker "Sleep as android"?
It's mostly youtube on my tablet that keeps me awake half the night ...

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#143585

On 2024-10-02 06:06, Andy Burns wrote:
> Carlos E.R. wrote:
> 
>> Sleep for Androids.
> 
> Do you mean the sleep tracker "Sleep as android"?

Yes.

You can try it for some days (15?) for free, then pay for it if you like 
it, or not.

> It's mostly youtube on my tablet that keeps me awake half the night ...

You will sleep eventually :-)

-- 
Cheers, Carlos.

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#143601

Andy Burns wrote on Wed, 2 Oct 2024 05:06:39 +0100 :

> It's mostly youtube on my tablet that keeps me awake half the night ...

Hi Andy,
On only *that* topic of "youtube keeping you awake half the night", I
presume that's because you watch a video and eventually fall asleep but the
videos keep going (I may be wrong on that guess though).

If *that* is an issue, bear in mind that NewPipe will play the video
WITHOUT the screen being on (if that's what you want), so you can listen to
the sound but not have to see the light flickering about the bedroom.

That's what I do every night. 

I create a nightly playlist of documentaries I want to listen to, and then
I play that playlist through NewPipe, and I never get through the whole
playlist before I'm fast asleep - but the graphics are off so that's fine.

When the playlist ends (hours later) the playing just stops.

I apologize if that's NOT what you meant, but one thing you might want that
costs money which is related to this is YouTube TV (although I don't know
if your discount applies to that as that is a 'service', not an app.

And besides, NewPipe negates most of the need for YouTube TV anyway.

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#143605

Andrew wrote:

> On only that topic of "youtube keeping you awake half the night", I
> presume that's because you watch a video and eventually fall asleep but the
> videos keep going (I may be wrong on that guess though).

No, I don't have it set to autoplay the next and the next 
recommendation, I rarely queue-up a list of videos ...

> I create a nightly playlist of documentaries I want to listen to

I find the Asianometery "videos" are good to listen to without actually 
watching.

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#143603

VanguardLH wrote:

> Talented Apps ParKing ($6.98) - abandonware for a couple years now
> Network Cell Info & Wifi ($2.14)
> GPS Status Pro ($2.14) - they now want $13.99
> Torque Pro ($5.32) - use with OBD2 in my car for diagnostics
> 
> Well, I'd rather not let Google have any payment methods, especially
> since they don't have payware in their Play Store that I need now.
> Usually I can find freeware apps that are devoid of ads, or the ads are
> hidden (you have to dig for them to explicitly view them).

I've bought several nexus/pixel devices from the play store, as well as 
apps, so they have my details

> The reason why you got the notice, and not I or others, is the following
> condition: "Open to select participants based on their purchase
> history".  My purchase history is so old and measly that Google will
> never be sending me that discount.  Interestingly it also says "Google
> Payments account required", yet Google Pay is dead.

Here is my list of app purchases over 13 years, doesn't seem that bad, 
several no longer exist in the store and most I no longer have installed.

Ping					£0.78
Button Mapper Pro Discount		£2.39
Premium TVheadend TV			£5.99
Ampere No ADs				£1.09
Light Flow Pro LED Control		£1.75
Cloud Backup Drive Connector		£0.59
Call Logs Backup & Restore Pro		£0.99
SMS Backup & Restore Pro		£1.49
ownCloud				$0.99
Invitation Processor Pro		£2.38
Ookla Speedtest Ad Removal		£0.64
XavyCloud				£0.61
GPS Status PRO legacy key		£1.44
3D Image Live Wallpaper			£1.00
7notes with mazec			£0.75
mSecure Password Manager		£0.25
TuneIn Radio Pro Live Radio		£0.25
AndroZip Pro File Manager		£2.33
Tasker					£3.99
FolderSync Pro				£1.95
PocketCloud Remote Desktop Pro		£6.46
SpeedView Pro				£1.80
World of Goo				£0.49
RealCalc Plus				£1.99
ADW Theme Cyanogen Mod Pro		£0.65
Angry Birds Space Premium		£0.61
Cut the Rope Gold			£0.62
Sonic The Hedgehog			£2.35

> Trying to get suggestions on buying something because you might get a
> big discount reminds me of the comedy skit where the husband comes home
> to find bags of dry dog food in the kitchen, and asks why there are bags
> of dog food.  Wife says there was a huge sale on dog food.  Husband
> remarks "But we don't have a dog."

I'm sure there are apps I've hummed and hawed about, then ended-up not 
buying, was hoping for some brain joggers while I've got the discount offer.

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#143587

On 2024-09-30 18:28, Andy Burns wrote:
> As google are offering me 95% off a item from the play store, has anyone 
> got any recommendations for paid for apps (not games/films)?
> 
> I can't think of any I've been putting-off buying ...

Apps I have paid for:

OsmAnd+ — Maps & GPS Offline
Contour lines plugin — OsmAnd
The Photographer's Ephemeris (Crookneck Consulting LLC)
Simple Gallery Pro (Simple Mobile Tool)
Sleep as Android from Petr Nálevka (Urbandroid)


Yes, some of these apps have a free version in the Play Store, and some 
times another one in F-Droid; but they are not the exact same one. And 
people like OsmAnd deserve the contribution.


-- 
Cheers, Carlos.

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#143589

Carlos E.R. wrote:

> some of these apps have a free version in the Play Store, and some times 
> another one in F-Droid; but they are not the exact same one.

I gather google is moving to enforce install of apps from the play store 
if you try to sideload them, or load them from alternate stores?

Not seen it in practice, because pixels haven't been given Android 15 
upgrades yet :-(

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#143591

On 2024-10-02 14:19, Andy Burns wrote:
> Carlos E.R. wrote:
> 
>> some of these apps have a free version in the Play Store, and some 
>> times another one in F-Droid; but they are not the exact same one.
> 
> I gather google is moving to enforce install of apps from the play store 
> if you try to sideload them, or load them from alternate stores?

Not exactly. What I read is that you can not install one way and update 
the other. And developers can choose to block different install methods.

<https://www.xataka.com/aplicaciones/nuevo-android-duro-golpe-a-apks-instalas-app-google-play-store-no-usas>

It is in Spanish, so you need a translator tool.


*The new thing about Android is a hard blow to APKs: either you install 
the app from the Google Play Store or you don't use it*

     Play Integrity will allow the developer to verify whether or not 
the app has been installed from the Google Play Store
     The system allows you to block the use of the app until it has been 
updated from the official Android store

One of the things that has characterized, and characterizes, Android has 
been the possibility of installing applications from third-party sources 
. Simply install the APK file to have an application like WhatsApp 
working normally. But like everything in this life, there are sources 
and sources. Some are legitimate, others are not so much. An APK of 
uncertain origins can work against both the user and the developer, so 
Google Play has launched a function to put a stop to it.

The problem . There are several reasons why a user may prefer to install 
an app via APK instead of through the Google Play Store. There are as 
many reasons as there are reasons a developer can have for not doing so. 
Let's think, for example, that an installation made via APK does not 
count for the metrics in Google Play. Perhaps the user is installing an 
outdated version, not optimized for their device or, why not, a modified 
version to offer functions that, in another context, would be paid for. 
This can harm both parties involved, user and developer.

... continues on link.

> 
> Not seen it in practice, because pixels haven't been given Android 15 
> upgrades yet :-(
> 

-- 
Cheers, Carlos.

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#143606

Carlos E.R. wrote on Wed, 2 Oct 2024 14:51:43 +0200 :

> On 2024-10-02 14:19, Andy Burns wrote:
>> Carlos E.R. wrote:
>> 
>>> some of these apps have a free version in the Play Store, and some 
>>> times another one in F-Droid; but they are not the exact same one.
>> 
>> I gather google is moving to enforce install of apps from the play store 
>> if you try to sideload them, or load them from alternate stores?
> 
> Not exactly. What I read is that you can not install one way and update 
> the other. And developers can choose to block different install methods.

The way it has been, for a while, but it has already changed a few times,
is that if you load an app from location 1, it's signed with a certain
signature which is different than if you loaded that same app from location
2.  

So if you loaded it from location 2, you have to update from location 2.
Otherwise the signatures don't match.

However... that's only the most simplistic view as Google recently allowed
developers to share the credentials among locations, so anything can be the
case for any given app.

Safest way around all that complexity is to update from the same repository
that you got your app from. I even have started inserting the repository
name into the download of the APK (since I do all my Android APK installs
from Windows).

 fdroid_name.of.apk
 github_name.of.apk
 google_name.of.apk

Let's hope Google hasn't messed with this, as I don't even have the Google
Play Store package installed on my non-rootable Android user partition.

It's never needed.

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#143612

Andrew wrote:

> Let's hope Google hasn't messed with this, as I don't even have the Google
> Play Store package installed

Seems sensible that they have side-loading turned off by default, but 
beyond that I don't want google deciding what I can or can't install.

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