How to get the most out of the Android Market

Ok, so you've taken your shiny new smartphone out its box, switched it on, and gone through set up. What now?

The main reason to have a smartphone are the apps and games. Pretty much all releases can be found on the Android Market, although others are hosted exclusively on sites such as GetJar or the developer's own website (e.g. Gameloft).

When going on the Market there are a couple of things you will notice:

1. Many more apps and games are available for free (or have free versions) than you will find on iTunes. Last time I checked I believe about 60% of the releases on Google's market were free, and despite Apple having more content available, Android still has double the amount of free stuff. 
2. It's difficult to browse the Market if you don't know what you want. Don't get me wrong, Google have invested a lot of effort in improving the app's UI and the Web Market but the limitations mean that a significant amount of the good ones will slip by unnoticed.
3. I can get a refund?! If you buy an app and you don't like it, you can uninstall it and get your money back. This brilliant idea used to give you a 24-hour window of opportunity to try before you buy, but Google have unfortunately pulled a bit of an Apple and now cut that to 15 minutes. 

Don't get me wrong, many apps can be trialled in quarter of an hour and the selection of Lite versions is impressive (although functionality can be limited). Yet there are many apps, particularly those related to tasks and productivity, that require more time to monitor and assess performance. This coupled with the challenge of hunting out the best that Android developers have to offer, means that purchasing an app or game can come down to a bit of a guesstimation. Plus let's face it, kitting out your new phone properly can be an expensive business.

So what can you do other than use the Market? 

Well, if you've played around with the settings menu you might have come across an option on the Applications menu called 'Unknown Sources'. This will usually be unticked, checking the box couldn't be easier, and opens your phone out to a larger world. Unlike Apple and the tie-in of the iPhone to iTunes, Google are happy to allow users to install applications from outside the Market. This opens up other app sources such as 3rd party markets (e.g. AppBrain) or the black market.

Before we go any further, there are a couple of things you will need:

• your phone's USB cable OR Dropbox.
• a file manager (e.g. Dual File Manager, ASTRO, Apps Installer)
• ...and if you're on version 2.1 or lower, a task manager (I use TasKiller), because although in theory the Android OS will close apps as it requires more RAM, there are occasions when you will want/need the option to do this manually. Task managers do not work on Android 2.2 and later.

The steps are simple. Download the apk file (.apk is the format for Android apps), transfer it to your phone via USB/email/Dropbox, and then navigate to it with your file manager. Install. Done!

Now I certainly don't encourage software piracy in general (although I don't think anyone should pay the RRP for PhotoShop), but it can be a nice way to test an app for compatibility, play with all the features, or even to give something a go that you wouldn't normally try. What is also important to remember is that not all countries can access paid apps in the Market, and for these people this is a valuable service to provide content they would not otherwise be able to download.

If you find yourself enjoying a game or using an app regularly, then I would encourage you to support developers (these guys are often independent so need your £, $, €, etc!). I won't tempt fate and recommend anything directly, although Android warez forums are the most common format for such content, and there is even a cracked version of the Market that you can use directly on your phone.

I'm sure in your travels you will find a number of other avenues through which to access paid and free apps. Regardless of how trusted the source it is important to have anti-virus protection which scans any new content on your phone. There have been instances in the past of Android devs putted malicious copies of their work on such sites in order to deter users or wayward apps getting uploaded to the Market - I've not experienced either myself but have heard about others losing the contents of their SD card (this is why we back up!) or gaining a gallery of penis pictures.