First Android premium mobile apps for sale in UK this morning

The awaited premium section of the Android Market has opened to UK users today. Developers will now be able to set their own charges on apps they have developed. Previously only free applications were available for download from Android.

From the release:

“When you click on the Android Marketplace icon in the morning there will be a wide selection of paid apps on the market,” says Regan Whitehead, mobile internet category manager at T-Mobile UK. “It’s like Ebay - developers are posting up their apps, they’re setting the price, customers are rating independently and choosing what they want to have so it’s an open market approach”

What we think?

This opens up a whole new can of worms. There have been some security issues already on the Android Market, but the community review system seems to have stood pretty firmly against that kind of abuse. Now that there is a definite financial return on goods sold through the Market, I reckon we’ll see an explosion in quality content - especially since the severe restrictions of the Apple store won’t be in effect. EA Sports and Activision are already offering games, and I will be very interested to see who else starts shifting units in the near future.