Android Play Store Taiwan idiocy

[Plastic Rat]

So what the hell? I can't buy paid apps in Taiwan because some legislator had to demonstrate the size of his genitalia to all? And then Google takes their bat and their ball and goes home! Great!

Anyone know if there's an end in sight for this garbage? Is anyone working to resolve it or are consumers stuck with it now? Who do I write angry letters to?

[dudumomo]

You can change the country that Android Play detect:
http://theunlockr.com/2012/04/13/how-to ... t-country/

[Confuzius]

You can also download just about any app, .apk files (cracked ones) around the web. Just have to set your device to allow apps from unknown sources.

Half the apps I want and would happily pay for, are simply unavailable here.

[catfish13]

Root your phone and install/run MarketEnabler. Be sure to clear cache and stop the app first.

[Amasashi]

So what the hell? I can't buy paid apps in Taiwan because some legislator had to demonstrate the size of his genitalia to all? And then Google takes their bat and their ball and goes home! Great!

Anyone know if there's an end in sight for this garbage? Is anyone working to resolve it or are consumers stuck with it now? Who do I write angry letters to?

It's not garbage or a pissing contest. It's consumer protection. Goods that are purchased online must be eligible for a full refund during a 7-day trial period because the customer cannot actually inspect the product prior to purchase, much like how the EU requires all consumer electronics to come with a 2-year original manufacturer's warranty instead of the more common 1-year.

Different countries havd different laws. Apple chose to comply; Google chose not to. Perhaps you should ditch your Android for an iPhone before blaming legislators for trying to protect consumers.

[JimmyTheSaint]

Root your phone and install/run MarketEnabler. Be sure to clear cache and stop the app first.

Did you actually do this? Can you verify whether or not it worked?

[Plastic Rat]

So what the hell? I can't buy paid apps in Taiwan because some legislator had to demonstrate the size of his genitalia to all? And then Google takes their bat and their ball and goes home! Great!

Anyone know if there's an end in sight for this garbage? Is anyone working to resolve it or are consumers stuck with it now? Who do I write angry letters to?

It's not garbage or a pissing contest. It's consumer protection. Goods that are purchased online must be eligible for a full refund during a 7-day trial period because the customer cannot actually inspect the product prior to purchase, much like how the EU requires all consumer electronics to come with a 2-year original manufacturer's warranty instead of the more common 1-year.

Different countries havd different laws. Apple chose to comply; Google chose not to. Perhaps you should ditch your Android for an iPhone before blaming legislators for trying to protect consumers.

I'm not blaming them for trying to protect consumers, I'm blaming them for being unreasonable. Besides, now I simply CAN NOT buy apps? I don't see how this is protecting me as a consumer. That's like protecting people from traffic accidents by taking away their ability to purchase vehicles.

Also, a 7 day trial on apps? Really? You need 7 days to 'inspect' an app you pay a couple of dollars for and that you can download instantly?

I can understand this with physical goods. There is postage time involved and so on. An app you can download in seconds, plus you can find out reviews online. Do I really need to try Plants vs. Zombies for 7 days before I can decide whether it's worth the money?

Sounds like you need to stop drinking the Kool Aid everyone is handing out.

Regardless, I just want this sorted out so I don't have to mess around with a bunch of inconvenient stuff so I can get the apps I want like everyone else. I would LIKE to pay for stuff that other people have spent time making, but if I'm actually going to be restricted from giving them my money I just see this leading to more piracy. ...and then probably some official going into a flat spin on how they need to stop piracy on phones. What are they going to do then? Take away everyone's android phone?

[Amasashi]

So what the hell? I can't buy paid apps in Taiwan because some legislator had to demonstrate the size of his genitalia to all? And then Google takes their bat and their ball and goes home! Great!

Anyone know if there's an end in sight for this garbage? Is anyone working to resolve it or are consumers stuck with it now? Who do I write angry letters to?

It's not garbage or a pissing contest. It's consumer protection. Goods that are purchased online must be eligible for a full refund during a 7-day trial period because the customer cannot actually inspect the product prior to purchase, much like how the EU requires all consumer electronics to come with a 2-year original manufacturer's warranty instead of the more common 1-year.

Different countries havd different laws. Apple chose to comply; Google chose not to. Perhaps you should ditch your Android for an iPhone before blaming legislators for trying to protect consumers.

I'm not blaming them for trying to protect consumers, I'm blaming them for being unreasonable. Besides, now I simply CAN NOT buy apps? I don't see how this is protecting me as a consumer. That's like protecting people from traffic accidents by taking away their ability to purchase vehicles.

Also, a 7 day trial on apps? Really? You need 7 days to 'inspect' an app you pay a couple of dollars for and that you can download instantly?

I can understand this with physical goods. There is postage time involved and so on. An app you can download in seconds, plus you can find out reviews online. Do I really need to try Plants vs. Zombies for 7 days before I can decide whether it's worth the money?

Sounds like you need to stop drinking the Kool Aid everyone is handing out.

Regardless, I just want this sorted out so I don't have to mess around with a bunch of inconvenient stuff so I can get the apps I want like everyone else. I would LIKE to pay for stuff that other people have spent time making, but if I'm actually going to be restricted from giving them my money I just see this leading to more piracy. ...and then probably some official going into a flat spin on how they need to stop piracy on phones. What are they going to do then? Take away everyone's android phone?

Again, it's not that you can't buy apps, but rather Google can't sell apps.

Haven't you ever bought an app only to realize it was pure crap? Sure, it may be only 0.99 USD, but money is money. As for the 7-day period, they had to come up with some number, and a week seems about right. Carrefour has a 30-day return policy. Do you really need a month to figure out if that fly swatter you bought is a keeper or not? No. But they have to come up with a number, and one month sounds a lot better than an arbitrary 9, 17, or 23 days.

In actuality, not many people return apps bought on Apple's app store, so the impact is quite negligible for Apple when compared to inncreased revenue from app sales and increased brand recognition, something Google is definitely losing out on.

I can buy alcohol any time I want in Taiwan and drink it in public, in front of an elementary school, during the day, with children left and right, if I so choose. Can't do that in the States. That no public intoxication crap is a real b*tch, am I right? And what about countries that don't sell alcohol outside of bars after 10 PM? Oh, how I wish those legislators would stop flaunting their genitalia and just let me do as I wish.

[creztor]

Have to agree that 7 days for software is BS. There's far too many people that will download, use and then demand their money back. Software is completely different to tangible goods, so I believe making a comparison with a supermarket is wrong.

[Amasashi]

Have to agree that 7 days for software is BS. There's far too many people that will download, use and then demand their money back. Software is completely different to tangible goods, so I believe making a comparison with a supermarket is wrong.

To each his own, but I do believe that both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs proved to the world that it's the software that makes the machine.