Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play Hitting UK On March 31st

Sony Ericsson has just mentioned something great for those who are looking to pick up the XPERIA Play. The company mentioned that it'll be available in late March, the 31st, but the price wasn't mentioned yet. At launch there'll be six games for you to finish, but you'll have access to the games on the Android Market as well so you don't need to worry. Don't forget that they're working on new games and that this is a smartphone as well. It's no NGP but it'll do for now.

[vg247]

Future BlackBerrys Could Be Running Android Apps, Cause They're "Super Apps" Aren't Enough

ShopSavvy has just mentioned something that could be in the future for RIM and the BlackBerry. First, let's keep in mind that it has been reported that the company's PlayBook tablet will actually be able to run Android apps which is a big deal. Now, we're hearing reports that ShopSavvy's Android app has actually been activated by a few BlackBerrys at RIM's HQs in Waterloo, Ontario. Interesting stuff. It could be a hint of things to come and would be a great addition to future BlackBerrys. It might even be enough for me to get one.

[BGR]

Bloomberg Says That the BlackBerry Playbook Will Be Running Android Apps

Bloomberg is back at it again and this time they've mentioned that RIM's BlackBerry Playbook will definitely be running Android apps. The firm also mentions that RIM won't be using Dalvik which was rumoured before but running Android apps is definitely a step in the right direction. I wonder how RIM will talk their way into asking Google for access to their Android Market. Will they need to? I'm not really sure but this is great news for folks who are already ready to purchase this tablet.

[BGR]

Google Announces the Online Android Market, Installs Your Apps OTA

Everyone's been waiting for this one for a long time. At Google's Android "Honeycomb" event they unveiled the online Android Market. Yes, you can finally take a look at and install Android apps onto your device over the air! The phone management section will nickname your device and then it'll send your installs directly to the phone. Pretty awesome stuff. Google also announced in-app purchases so we should be seeing that quite soon. Check out the online Android Market at market.android.com.

[Engadget]

Android Market Gets AT&T Carrier Billing

Android users who are customers of AT&T now can use AT&T "Direct Carrier Billing" for purchases from the Android Market.

The move shows the role a mobile service provider can play in mobile payments for digital goods, even though carrier billing has been available for decades.

Some firms using carrier billing from a number of carriers say the payment method can be expensive without volume, but Android Marketplace should not have a "volume of transactions" problem.

Android Developers Blog: More Payment Options in Android Market

Multiple Android App Stores a "Net Win" for Android

Google apparently believes Android app stores operated by other companies, such as Verizon, possibly Amazon or Best Buy, are a "net win," since the goal of the app stores is to create revenue for developers, not Google.

To the extent that multiple Android stores support that goal, it is a win for everybody in the ecosystem.

160,000 Androids A Day

Google's Andy Rubin says 160,000 Android devices are being activated every day, up from 100,000 a day in May. Apps in the Android Market also are up to 68,000 or so.

160,000 Android devices being activated every day; 68,000 apps in Market | Android Central

Android Market Growing Pains

Google probably is learning as much from Android Market feedback as it apparently did in thinking it could sell unlocked Android devices direct to consumers from a website, without the normal retail store and call center support. As it turns out, end users are comfortable with retail store experiences and do expect a fairly robust level of customer support from call centers and retail personnel.

In terms of the Android Market, perhaps Google is learning that it has to communicate better with developers; that throwing up apps to see what happens is just not going to work when dealing with third party developers.

As it turns out, some developers have been complaining that app download counts tracked by the Market have been inaccurate. For any developer that sells apps, that's lost revenue. For developers providing free apps, the apparent loss of downloads can affect ranking, hence the quantity of future downloads, and therefore the size of an end-user base and any upside revenue that might accrue from having a large user base.

Other users have noted that sometimes apps are hard to find when using the Market's own search process. One developer could locate his app when conducting a direct query, but that the app was not visible in search results.

"What disturbs me deeply is that there's really no support system for the Android Market," says Bo Stone of the AndroidGuys. "There's no bug tracking, no support phone or even email or any way to file a problem ticket."

The Android Market does have a help forum, but not many end users or developers are likely to find that a reasonable solution. Developers are customers, and customers have certain expecations about levels of support.

It appears that Android Market does not yet operate as a retail software outlet normally must.

Some developers report that the total number of downloads for their respective applications had in some cases dropped by several thousand, for example. Google will get better at this, but the issues illustrate the growing pains any firm, no matter how accomplished, can experience when moving into a more traditional and direct retail environment.

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Android Guys

Android Market Closes on 50,000 Apps

At this rate, it will not be long before the Android Market features 50,000 or so applications.

That's well behind Apple's total of about 150,000 apps, but Android is catching up pretty fast.