Problem with android market

[jaypw]

Hi there,

Apologies if this is in the wrong forum - couldn't think where else to put it.

I bought one of these from eBuyer a couple of days ago and have a problem with the android market in that i cannot find some of the apps i have on my HTC Hero phone (V2.1 also). The first thing i did when i got it was to carry out the upgrade as per the manual and i do now have the market on my device but when i search for apps such as doubletwist, kindle (both essential to me) copilot (i know there is no GPS) among others, they are not found.

Have i done something wrong here or is this just a cut down version of the android market. According to some comments on the eBuyer forum it is supposed to be the full android market. Could somebody else please try to search for these apps and let me know your findings.

Many thanks.
Jay

[admin]

Hi Jay,

It is supposed to be the full Android Market.

I will take a look into this and see what I can find for you, in the meantime if anyone else can shed some light on this please comment below. If some apps arn't showing up in search, this could cause a problem for many users.

Just a thought, is it possible you could download the app on another device and transfer the .apk file via SD card onto the Scroll?

[jaypw]

Hi there,

Thanks for the reply.
Unfortunately my HTC phone went faulty last week so i cannot get any .apk files from it. I didn't really use it as a phone which was the reason i purchased one of these - for a more comfortable experience and i like the android OS. Another couple of apps i used very frequently was Sky+ remote record and Sky News and these also do not show up in the search results.

I have this afternoon gone through all apps in the manage applications section of settings, deleting any data and clearing cached data that may have been stored as i think it will be going back to eBuyer tomorrow. Unfortunately, I also synced my Gmail account with this device and now cannot delete it as it requires a hard reset which i cannot do (problem posted here viewtopic.php?f=15&t=17).

Would like to keep this device as i like the form factor and the price but i guess you get what you pay for.

Jay.

[admin]

I understand what you mean, if it really doesn't do what you expected then you probably should return it. The only thing is, what would you get to replace it? For the price there's only really those really bad chinese aPad/ePad models and clones which are known to be very poor. Also, at least Storage Options are UK based and contactable. Obviously if money was no object then a Samsung Galaxy would be to one to go for.... or an iPad (although iPad has no flash support).

The Scroll is very new to market, but thousands would have been sold in the few weeks running up to Xmas. This means that over the coming days and weeks more and more Scroll users will be finding ways to upgrade, modify, improve or hack the Scroll in order to get what they want from it. As I said, for the money I don't know what else you could get that would be better?

Even mega popular devices that sell millions (like the iPhone) don't do everything out of the box, so many users jailbreak them because they want flash support or they want more from it.

If you do send it back and buy something else, please do let me know what you get to replace it, and how well it compares. Cheers.

[jaypw]

Further to this, I have just received a reply from Storage Options tech support:

Quote
Some Android apps and sections of the marketplace are not available for the Scroll i'm afraid.

To do a factory reset you need to follow the procedure you already did, but ensure the Scroll is connected to a power source when you do the reset.

Thanks for supporting Storage Options.

End Quote

So it would appear that it is a cut down version of the market but i do not understand why. If the device is running V2.1 would it not be the same V2.1 as other devices or have SO customised it specifically for the Scroll? I cannot remember reading in the manual that the device has to be plugged into the mains to perform a hard reset but will give it a go when i get back later.

As much as I like the form factor and price of this, I would rather return it and pay the extra for an iPad - it may be expensive (I am not an apple fan although I have an iTouch and hate being locked to apple) but at least I know the apps I know and have become used to will work. I really do like the android OS but unfortunately it is so fragmented in that some apps are available on some devices but not on others using the same version of the OS.

So unfortunately for now i will be leaving android but will keep an eye on these forums in case anything changes but must praise Storage Options for the speed of their tech support.

Regards
Jay

[admin]

Yep - just had it confirmed myself with Mike at Storage Options, it's not the whole Android Market because some Apps are not compatible with the Scroll. Hmm, I feel a bit annoyed about that because it's not mentioned anywhere. However, it's not been a problem so far for me.

-Stu

[zsolt]

I realized only free apps available in the market even if gogle account properly set up, I cant understand why

[jaypw]

The thing is, Kindle, Doubletwist, sky remote record etc.. are free but they still do not appear in the android market??? I would like to know what the restrictions are, and why are only some free apps available and not what i would call some of the most popular ones?

Jay

[admin]

@Jay - Alex has got Doubletwist installed on his Scroll, see here: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=36

-Stu