AT&T Details Why You Can Only Install Market Apps On Your Android Smartphone

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It turns out that AT&T has a dedicated landing page for Android devices. And honestly I wish I could say if this was recently launched or has been kicking behind the scenes. Either way, the page not only has relevant information in terms of devices but also in regards to a few key issues that many complain about dealing with Android and AT&T in general.

If nothing else, it seems AT&T is paying attention to the complaints. Looking at the Android landing page on AT&T, they have a FAQ, granted its small but still manages to have a few key questions answered. That said, two of the bigger issues that I have heard in the past involve the fact that Google was not the default search option on select handsets and the issue with not being able to install non-Market apps.

The Google search engine question was answered simple and straight forward with the steps that one would need to follow in order to change the default search engine. Nothing overly surprising there, so lets move onto the non-Market apps.

The Market question was not answered quite as simply and in reality, the way I read it they are contradicting themselves. According to the FAQ;

“Android Market, managed by Google, is open to all developers. There is no approval process for applications, they are all accepted by default and Google has stated that they place apps in the Android Market within 24 hours of their submission.”

Paying key attention to the part that tells you the Market is open to all developers and there is no approval process. After the above portion, that same answer goes on to say that;

“AT&T selected Android Market as the exclusive source for applications because it forces developers to be accountable for the apps they submit.”

In summary, the Market is open to all and developers can submit an app without approval. At the same time AT&T is saying the developers are then “accountable.” Let me ask you, just because I filled out the form to become a developer and paid my fee; Does that mean I am going to be accountable and only upload legitimate apps? I say not entirely. Still, the answer does expand a little by going on to say that;

“If the Android community has issues with an app, the app can be flagged and removed. This minimizes the risk of malicious apps harming customers and provides more protection to the customer’s private data stored on the phone.”

In short, I can accept the answer they give as a whole, but broken down it seems to fall apart a little. That said, AT&T should trust their users to install non-Market apps. If nothing else, keep that ability unchecked by default and you will most likely keep majority of your users away anyway.

Otherwise, if you are interested in Android on AT&T, check out the landing page.