The Android Market has long been a source of frustration for Android users – it seems so much simpler to find and buy apps for the iPhone. With that in mind, a number of improvements have been announced recently by Android in order to help make both finding and purchasing apps easier.
Add to that list now, AT&T Direct Carrier Billing for those Android folks (obviously) on the AT&T network. This means apps you purchase can be billed to your phone bill, instead of your having to pull out a credit card.
Android Developer Ecosystem chief Eric Chu has just announced the new payment method on a blog post, noting that “The Android Market team has been working hard to deliver more forms of payment to further reduce purchase friction.”
Chu says that the Direct Carrier Billing has been rolled out to all AT&T users over the past few days, along with other updates to the Market service. These include the new 15-minute refund window, an increase in the maximum .apk size, as well as content ratings and new categories for apps. The latter will include “Media & Video”, “Music & Audio”, “Business”, and “Sports” games.
According to Chu, Android plans to “partner with more carriers” to bring this billing option to their subscribers. As it stands, AT&T and T-Mobile are the only US carriers that offer this.
