Database Users

Discussion thread: "Paid apps" are here!!!

I know the android market will start charging next week and I understand some apps have an expiration date on them and eventually they will expire. So this may not work for those apps and I could be totally wrong in my theory.
I'm going to try not updating my apps for a month or so because I fear some of the apps that were meant to be free the developer may decide to start charging and with an update put an expiration date on that app.
I know one app did this already. I forgot the name but it had the planet saturn as the icon and it was meant to be free but the developer decided to start charging and make it a demo version with an update. He got flamed in the comments and eventually took his app down.
Call me cheap but about 90% of the apps I have are not worth paying for but they are nice to have.
PLEASE POST ANY APPS THAT HAS STARTED CHARGING WITH AN UPDATE OR HAS TURNED INTO A TRIAL VERSION WITH AN UPDATE.
NOTE: I HAVE NOT TRIED SOME OF THESE APPS TO CONFIRM THE CHANGE. I AM SIMPLY GOING BASED OFF OF THE POSTS. PLEASE NOTIFY OF CORRECTIONS.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Force Ring (If you still have it keep it. Is not look for stats555's sig.)
SMS Commander (The original app is dead. The developer has put the new app in the market. Dont uninstall the original.)
Park Mark (It was originally updated to a demo and now the words demo have been removed from the description. I don't know if it is a demo or not anymore. Keep pre demo.)
Dog Catcher Beta (If you downloaded it before you had to pay for it... there is no prompt to pay for it yet.)
World Clock (is now a trial version. Keep original don't update)
Advanced Task Manager (Is now gone from the market. You have to pay for the new version.)
Quickoffice (Also gone from the market.)
1 click direction (Is now a paid app. I don't think the new app has any changes except now its $2.99)

force ring is what you lost
i lost it too
good idea
keep us updated

drewfinkel said:
force ring is what you lost
i lost it too
good idea
keep us updated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh yes. It let you raise and lower your phone volume via sms. Kind of like sms commander.
Will do.

As soon as someone upgrades an app that adds an expiration date, they should mention it here.
Some of us don't mind having an older version for free
Depending on the app though. Some i'd pay for.

topdnbass said:
As soon as someone upgrades an app that adds an expiration date, they should mention it here.
Some of us don't mind having an older version for free
Depending on the app though. Some i'd pay for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats a good Idea and Ill try to keep the list updated on the original post. Any app that starts charging or any app that turns in to a trial version with an update we should include.

drewfinkel said:
force ring is what you lost
i lost it too
good idea
keep us updated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will keep force ring in my signature, will not update it as its very popular so if you need it grab it anytime.

stats555 said:
I will keep force ring in my signature, will not update it as its very popular so if you need it grab it anytime.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that.

If you have and use the app, it's obviously worth paying for.
The question is, how much is it worth If it's something valuable enough to keep on your phone, I'd think 99 cents is more than fair.

ParkMark & Geodroid
When I was browsing in the Market 12 hours ago I saw 'ParkMark Demo' instead of 'ParkMark'. I read the description and there was told about trail expires on march, 1st. When I read the comments the users were disgusted about paying for such an app.
Now I looked at ParkMark again and its name was switched back to 'ParkMark' and there isn't mentioned anything about "trial" in the description.
So it could be they reconisdered and kept ParkMark free or they hided every information about trial so everybody makes the (hidden trial-) update.
EDIT:
Found this at the developer homepage:
ParkMark (and all applications for the G1) is currently free. The update will be a low cost app once the market gets going and a demo version will be available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is also the developer of the Geodroid -App, which also turned to demo.

MacFloid said:
When I was browsing in the Market 12 hours ago I saw 'ParkMark Demo' instead of 'ParkMark'. I read the description and there was told about trail expires on feb, 31st or march, 31st. When I read the comments the users were disgusted about paying for such an app.
Now I looked at ParkMark again and its name was switched back to 'ParkMark' and there isn't mentioned anything about "trial" in the description.
So it could be they reconisdered and kept ParkMark free or they hided every information about trial so everybody makes the (hidden trial-) update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats what I was worried about with the apps.

So if we have apps that are currently free&they add a fee to them in the future wed be charged for them even though when we downloaded them ,they were free?

World Clock
World Clock by Thinlet is now a trial.
It was free w/ over 10k downloads but then he/she/they had an update w/o notice of what's changed & that's when people started noticing it was now trial. Weak.

I accidently updated parkmark, indeed it's name on the phone is now ParkMark Demo...kind of deceptive imo :/

It's Park Mark free for me...
Does anyone have the old APK file?

cmavr8, yup, another updated version! seems the maker of parkmark watches out little forum They changed the app description to "This version free forever" "full paid version coming April 1st". So i think we're good for now.

What is the method of extracting the APK file from my phone for an application that i want to save?

As a user, I definitely understand the desire to have all apps be free. But I also know that in order for apps to continue to be developed and improved, there needs to be some sort of motivation to do so. A couple dollars or less is certainly reasonable for good quality apps. As a developer, I can tell you that it takes a lot of time and energy to produce a quality app and there comes a time when it is simply not worth it without some sort of compensation. Remember, developers have lives, families, etc... they don't exist to simply serve the user. That being said, I think that all apps that are already available for free (and are not demo versions) should remain free, and I think most will. At least it's not the Apple App Store, I mean come on all those folks paying for fart machines and other inane apps. I think it's good the Android Market has had some time to get some of those types of apps out of the way for free.
Feel free to download my app, as I will not be charging for it unless I do some major overhaul of new features, which would require me to charge. I don't see that happening, however. Not that I think there is a huge market for my app as it is a specialized tool for a certain industry...

I would hope that a 'new' version is created for the pay version, instead of forcing a paid upgrade. That seems like the solution that would encourage payment for additional "new and improved" features.

Of course. Besides, the terms of the Market require that to be the case.

Hey does anyone have the maverick.apk? I accidentally deleted it from my sd & its not in the market anymore. I looked in stats sig but I couldn't find it there either.

Looks like Apps on SD are (more) secure.

while they are accessible the .asec format that apps are stored as on the SD card (in .android_secure directory) are not just renamed apk files...
could this be the end of piracy?

End of piracy?
I doubt that. B-)

How do the pirates scrape the market so easily?
Just this morning, on a reputable site, I found a link (since taken down but the file is on usenet so it's not going away) to a 1.6GB file of paid market apps... that's gotta be just about every paid app on the market. And almost all of them seem to be very, very recent - example - Beautiful Widgets is the version released yesterday, and almost everything I've looked at has been updated for Froyo meaning the scrape has only happened in the last day or so.
Call me stupid but I can't imagine this is done manually by humans paying, downloading, installing, copying, uninstalling, refunding... :-/
No, I'm not going to share the file and yes, I pay for my apps.

djmcnz said:
No, I'm not going to share the file and yes, I pay for my apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I created an account few days ago and I logged in to reply just to say "thumbs up to you man!"

I am going to admit...I use to pirate apps... :-(
but now I find myself paying for apps because I truly support Android and I know the devs'll come where the money is...
and sadly I just found out that you can easily move the apps to the Phone and take them from there, but hopefully paid apps are all in this unreadable (As of yet) format...I'd welcome a 100% full stop to app piracy on Android...As long as it is coupled with a better payment system via the Market.

There is an old saying that you youngsters have likely not heard. It goes.... Locks dont keep people out. All locks do is keep honest men honest. So it is with anything. The encryption scheme is already beat, there was never any chance of that not happening.

Android Mate = free alternative to Root Manager?

Just read about Android Mate. Sounds like it could be the free alternative to Root Manager many people are looking for (I know I am... don't want to purchase Root Manager cause I am not sure if I will be keeping my Vibrant).
The article I read on it claims Android Mate works, although it may take a few attempts.
(For those wondering, I read about Android Mate at hxxp://dottech.org/android/free-app-reviews/17673 <--- I can't post proper link, hence the hxxp, cause I have new account but I assure you that is a legitimate website.)

Root Manager is free, but there is a donate version to give back to the developer for all his hard work.

I'm lost... how is Root Manager free? It says 1.99 euros under marketplace. I am not too sure how this whole donateware thing works, but from what I understand it is just another name to charge for apps? Someone please correct me if I am wrong (noobie here).

I got Root Manager last week

^ dude, come on man....

speoples20 said:
Root Manager is free, but there is a donate version to give back to the developer for all his hard work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where is this free version you speak of? I can't find it on the market. I like to try before I buy.

Come on guys, if you are too cheap to split a couple of euros to the developer, maybe you should stay away from rooting your precious $500 phones

^^ You have a 24 hour window when buying from the market you know?
You guys cant help a developer with an amazing app?

Wrong section.

I am all for paying for good software. I buy Cyan beers and pay for apps. As stated above, just spend the couple bucks.

If your too cheap to buy the app Koush does have functionality in the free version of Rom Manager. It only limits you to a few features. Click on ads to help him out at least.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

http://www.appbrain.com/search?q=rom+manager
Free and Paid versions available in market place... search for "ROM Manager"

Oh, nevermind. I was thinking of Root Explorer, not Manager.
I'm not against buying apps I'd actually use. I see no need for Root Explorer yet, was my point of wanting to buy before I try.
I've only had an Android phone for about a month, and I have yet to purchase anything. There's so many apps out there it's hard to know what's worth it and what isn't. Still trying to decide between purchasing App Alarm, or Alarm Clock Plus.

Root Explorer basically allows you to move files around that other file managers do not have access to, thus you can avoid having to use adb/fastboot and typing commands. Just move files around and voila.

angryPirate12 said:
http://www.appbrain.com/search?q=rom+manager
Free and Paid versions available in market place... search for "ROM Manager"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats ROM Manager, not ROOT Manager.
@People saying "just buy it": As I already mentioned, I don't know if I will be keeping my phone so I don't want to spend the money. Plus, I could "just buy" plenty of apps and rack up a huge bill. Id rather save my budget for apps that don't have free alternatives.

Thanks for the root explorer explanation.
I'm not having much luck with android mate. Have you tried it? I try to delete folders of apps I've uninstalled but they don't get deleted. That and the constant loading bar when trying to view folder contents. Is this working for you? Maybe root explorer would be helpful for me if it serves the same purpose.

I don't mind buying apps and I often give donations to devs who's apps and roms I use. Only trouble is that in many countries payed apps are not yet implied in the market. And here in my country (Netherland) very few people use creditcards and there hard to get (unlike America).
Just give me Paypal ore something similar.

I quite like Super Manager myself. Has ads on it so you can still support the dev.

Samsung giving out +2GB on Drop Box to Note owners

EDIT: APPARENTLY, ONLY WORKS IF YOU ARE BRAZILIAN. Sorry for the rest of you guys, I didn't know that =/
I'm not aware of any topics stating this, so I'll publicize my discovery. If everybody already knows, please forgive me for being the slowpoke.
If you register your product's IMEI on the site you get a coupon for Dropbox that, when inserted, gives you another 2GB of storage.
I'm not sure if other countries have this promo, so if your don't, go into www.samsung.com.br, it's the brazilian site, or chose the country in the location selector. In the lower left corner of the screen there is a big dropbox icon that is the promotion thing. The instructions should be easy to follow even in a completely unknown language, or you could use Google Translator. Here goes a quick run-down anyway:
The first stage (Etapa 1) simply teaches you how to download dropbox from market. If you have to follow those instructions, don't forget to jump out the window afterwars. So just click "avançAr" (next).
The second stage teaches you how to create a dropbox account. I don't believe a single being in this forum doesn't have one, so... next.
The third stage is where you have to create your Samsung account if you don't have one yet. After that, you'll have to register your product via IMEI, which is in Settings - About Phone - Status.
As a last step, you'll get your coupon on the Samsung site, then you have to go to www.dropbox.com/coupon and insert the code.
Enjoy and click "Thanks" if this helped you =)

the site did not recognize my existing samsung account, when i enter my email it wanted to create a new one. this was not possible because i dont have a valid CPF (brasilian tax number)...

I though it accepted worldwide accounts. My bad =/

I really want this to work, but it's not taking my dropbox email. I'm pretty sure I have a brazillian note.

If you want more space on Dropbox, just make virtual PCs and "invite" them to your account. You don't even need a real e-mail to register now. No need to give out your personal data to a brazilian website.

I've already hit my referral limit (with actual referrals). Who says I'm giving samsung brazil my personal information?
Edit: I've somehow made it to the part where it asks my IMEI, but it's not taking it... Oh well! I am 95% sure my note it Brazilian.

TML1504 said:
the site did not recognize my existing samsung account, when i enter my email it wanted to create a new one. this was not possible because i dont have a valid CPF (brasilian tax number)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could always use a site like http://www.geradorcpf.com/ to generate a fake cpf.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk

well, it worked for me, using both the CPF and IMEI generators There goes an extra 2gb
I wouldn't be bothering with Dropbox since box.com gives out 50gb, but both Titanium Backup and SafeWallet both use it, so this is my everyday cloud service.
Next step - this weekend - is to bump up the storage another 8gb (depending on just how long each loop takes) via referrals on virtual pc's, as mentioned above. This link explains how: http://tippopotamus.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-to-get-525gb-on-dropbox-with-free.html

Don't see any dropbox images on the site :\

Heads up
This actually does work outside of Brasil.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=23611831&postcount=105

ata1918 said:
This actually does work outside of Brasil.
[URL="Here are the instructions, Good Luck.]http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=23611831&postcount=105[/URL]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You dun goofed the hotlink.
Edit:
Works. Sweet mother of god

ata1918 said:
This actually does work outside of Brasil.
[URL="Here are the instructions, Good Luck.]http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=23611831&postcount=105[/URL]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sure does! Cheers mate!!!

Request for coupon
Could anyone from Brazil PM me with a spare coupon? thanks.

Too bad that the link for the IMEI (step 7) is dead...

Its over. The site says that the number of avaliable cupoms has been reached.

Eww I missed this promo.
Thx god there're still 50Gb on my Box acc lolz.

I downloaded the APK for HTC devices and got 23 gigs of extra space. It was really easy to get.

zkyevolved said:
I downloaded the APK for HTC devices and got 23 gigs of extra space. It was really easy to get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go on how?
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

zkyevolved said:
I downloaded the APK for HTC devices and got 23 gigs of extra space. It was really easy to get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tell us more.

zkyevolved said:
I downloaded the APK for HTC devices and got 23 gigs of extra space. It was really easy to get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Limited to 2 years...

How to get rid of ads "special offers " on the lock screen no root no PC

Pretty sure I found a way they will work a lot of the time
Step 1. Go into the help app
Step 2 click on contact via email (they reply fast)
Step 3 click on problems with lock screen /notifications
Step 4 click on seeing notifications
Step 5 use this text in the describe the problem " I would like to disable the intrusive ads on the lockscreen at get in the way of seeing my wallpaper."
And then they will most likely disable special offers after that

Wrong. I got sick of the ads to the point I paid the $15. But what for? They don't let me uninstall the 'Special Offers' App after paying. If I had to guess, I would say they don't even turn the ads off and they just place wallpapers over the top of them. I totally had forgotten about this until I saw your post. I will be calling hem or emailing them to ask them to remove the app altogether or refund me my $15.

DragonFire1024 said:
Wrong. I got sick of the ads to the point I paid the $15. But what for? They don't let me uninstall the 'Special Offers' App after paying. If I had to guess, I would say they don't even turn the ads off and they just place wallpapers over the top of them. I totally had forgotten about this until I saw your post. I will be calling hem or emailing them to ask them to remove the app altogether or refund me my $15.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why is the previous poster "wrong"? Understand you are fussed about the app remaining after paying $15 USD but most folks are simply happy to see the ads disappear even if downloads still occur in the background. To each his own - there is no "wrong" or "right".

Davey126 said:
Why is the previous poster "wrong"? Understand you are fussed about the app remaining after paying $15 USD but most folks are simply happy to see the ads disappear even if downloads still occur in the background. To each his own - there is no "wrong" or "right".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right. I could've used better words. I can understand how most would be happy with that, but most don't understand or even know it still runs in the background or wherever. I just feel like it's a scam is all.

i just wanted to say thank you, this method worked perfectly! Saves me $15

Worked for me.

Just registered to say thanks! Worked for me.

My Fire 7 screen died. I have a Fire 8 on the way. I'm going to ask if they'll transfer my 'ransom' payment from my 7 to the 8...given I only paid to have the ads removed less than two weeks or so ago.

Wow, something similar in german worked. And I got a reply within 15min at 10pm today, on a public holiday, wow
But the reply states that it is a 'one time exception from their policy' to remove the ads. As long as you only have that one device, it's ok.

JobSup said:
Wow, something similar in german worked. And I got a reply within 15min at 10pm today, on a public holiday, wow
But the reply states that it is a 'one time exception from their policy' to remove the ads. As long as you only have that one device, it's ok.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you send me what you wrote in German? I'm currently living in Germany now but my german is ****ty.

Attempted this and this is the email I recieved

charlesefc said:
Attempted this and this is the email I recieved
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you use the same text I did?

It worked ! Sent your email before I went to sleep and their answer was there when I woke up:
I'm sorry for the inconvenience you've had with the ads on the screen of your Fire tablet.
As you requested, I have disabled Special Offers on your Fire.
Please understand that by unsubscribing, you'd have been charged $15.00 for the price difference between the device with and the device without Special Offers. *******But I made an exception and waived off the charge and unsubscribed the special offers on your Fire tablet.
Please turn wireless on, and the next time you connect your device wirelessly, it will complete the process of unsubscribing from Special Offers.
If you've further queries, please let us know so that we can help you in every possible way.
Please visit the following link to provide the information we requested:
I hope this helps! We look forward to seeing you again soon.
We'd appreciate your feedback. Please use the links below to tell us about your experience today.
Best regards,

My Fire 7 screen died so I got a Fire HD 8, used from Amazon direct for $51. Here is what I saved: Apparently when you unsubscribe from 'Special Offers' by paying the fee, it applies to new tablets as well. I didn't ask if they could apply the payment from my Fire 7, it was automatic. So -$15 there. Amazon technicians are either too busy or don't care. I was checking storage when I noticed it had storage on the SD card...well it doesn't come with a card. So -$15 again because I got a free card (retail about $13-15). In the end, a brand new Fire HD 8 is about $70. I pad $25 after the savings. Not bad at all.

I tried this, except I told them the ads were inappropriate. It worked and my ads were removed in just a few minutes.

williambright80 said:
Did you use the same text I did?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes

williambright80 said:
Pretty sure I found a way they will work a lot of the time
Step 1. Go into the help app
Step 2 click on contact via email (they reply fast)
Step 3 click on problems with lock screen /notifications
Step 4 click on seeing notifications
Step 5 use this text in the describe the problem " I would like to disable the intrusive ads on the lockscreen at get in the way of seeing my wallpaper."
And then they will most likely disable special offers after that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I sent them a message almost word for word and they sent me instructions to unsubscribe with 1-click...

Thanks so much! I literally sat there for about two minutes and then I turned my kindle on and saw that there were no more ads. Then I typed in my PIN and saw that my Special Offers app was uninstalled!!!

It Worked!!
Just registered to say thanks to William I copied and pasted your reason and within ten minutes lock screen ads are gone and so is the offers app!! Thanks a ton man!!

I can't believe it actually works