Further changes to Android Market, to be rolled out over the following two weeks (if you’re running Android 1.6 or above) is the most radical change to the app store since it was first launched, but the 24-hour refund is being slashed to just 15 minutes.
The ability to get a full refund, no questions asked, for any app or game purchased within a 24 hour period was a problem for developers. With such a long period, it was possible to ‘buy’ an app, use it and then get a refund – clearly having no intention of ever actually paying. However, 15 minutes is nowhere near enough time to download an app and try it out properly.
Clearly the thought is to stop people buying an app to evaluate it, but won’t that stop people buying paid-for content in the first place? Wouldn’t something like an hour have been more sensible?
Still, given that other platforms don’t offer such an easy no-quibble refund policy, perhaps Android users will just have to accept that they had it pretty good – perhaps a little too good.
The other changes should hopefully make up for this issue, with the app now showing a carousel view of highlighted content, a new single-page view to make it easier to buy and install content, content ratings and more images and screenshots.
More info: Android Blog
New carousel-view
New all-in-one view
