How to get paid Android apps for free
It’s human nature to want something for nothing. However, piracy really hurts developers, and it even hurts the Android ecosystem as a whole. For those wanting to balance those two desires – the attraction to free deals and the aversion to hurting developers – a few options exist that let you have the best of both worlds. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the ways you can get paid Android apps for free without resorting to piracy.
See also: Nintendo’s first smartphone games will be “free”
GetJar
GetJar is the largest independent Android app store outside of the Google Play Store. They’ve been in business since 2004, which means GetJar has developed alongside the smartphone industry as a whole.
GetJar was originally created as a developers’ beta-testing platform. It was designed by developers for developers, and their model has remained developer-friendly to this day. The store app, which cannot be found in the Google Play Store, offers an expansive listing of paid apps for the low, low price of Free, and you can take advantage of these offers by visiting their website.
Using a third party store does come with its own risks, however. The Google Play Store heavily regulates what apps are made available and carefully screens out malware. With GetJar, you can’t expect the same level of security that you might be used to. Use discretion when getting apps from any third party store.
Amazon Underground
Amazon Underground was recently introduced as an evolution of the company’s free app of the day program. Not only do you have access to a massive index of paid apps for free, Amazon Underground even makes some in-app purchases available at no additional cost.
So how do devs make money? Underground uses a very different payment strategy than has been conventionally used by smartphone and tablet app providers. Amazon Underground lets you use the apps for free and pays the developers based on how many minutes you use the app. In theory, this encourages app developers to make apps that are consistently engaging and bring users back for more. In reality, it’s not really certain whether this advantages developers or not. However, the only way to learn is to try it out. For now, Amazon Underground is offer tons of normally pricy apps for free. Best to take advantage of it while the getting is good!
The real bonus here is in the in-app purchase. This is a huge benefit to mobile gamers, as it deftly steps around those models that require you to buy coins or whatever for additional play. No more waiting around for 24 hours for more playtime to arrive, you can “purchase” as many in-app benefits as you want absolutely free. This perk varies from app to app, but most of the ones we tried out put no limit on in-app purchase quantity.
Google Play is still going to have a larger selection of apps, but if you’re looking to play without paying, Amazon Underground is hard to beat.
Google Opinion Rewards
It’s a simple little app. Periodically, Google will send you a question, and then they pay you Google Play store credits for your answers. Sometimes you get two or three a day, other times it might be a day or two between queries. Payouts vary widely, but most questions see you earning somewhere between $.10 and $.99.
This might not seem like much, but these payments can really add up quickly. I use Google Opinion Rewards almost daily, and as a result, it’s been quite a while since I paid for an app out of pocket. As long as you don’t mind offering up your personal spending habits and interests to the mighty hivemind of Google, this is an excellent way to build up some Googlebucks and turn yourself into a Google mogul. I’m currently sitting on a staggering portfolio of almost $6.00, and all I’ve had to do is periodically remind Google that I rarely go to Applebee’s, don’t watch many sports, and have never rooted for truffles.
Yes, they actually asked me when I last rooted for truffles.
Download Google Opinion Rewards
AppGratis
AppGratis offers a free app to its users every day and discounts on a wide selection of other apps. Most of these deals are only twenty-four hours long, and the way this service benefits developers is that it helps unrecognized apps get attention. Developers who are struggling to get their game or application noticed will sign a deal with AppGratis allowing the company to make the app available for free through their services.
When you pirate an app, the developer always loses. However, if you help a new app get use and attention it otherwise wouldn’t have gotten, you’re really helping them out. AppGratis is a perfect marriage of free software and guilt-free availability. They’ve featured big name apps like Angry Birds and Whatsapp in the past, so you might as well check out what they’re offering. Who knows. The app you snag from them for free might just be the next major fad, and you’ll have the smug satisfaction of being in the know early with no damage to your wallet.
AppSales
AppSales is a service that lets you build a wishlist of apps that you want but which you aren’t willing to fork over cash for. When one of your desired apps goes on sale, AppSales will let you know. By default, AppSales will alert you if an app on your wish list drops in price by a minimum of 25% and has seen 1,000 successful downloads at that price. You can adjust these options to fit your specific needs.
AppSales is the perfect option for the budget-conscious user who would prefer to wait for a deal than experience instant gratification. With this app price monitor, you can check out the history of any app’s selling price, and learn to anticipate price drops. This system combines really well with Google Opinion Rewards, as it lets you stretch your Google Play dollars much further.
Conclusion
You might not be able to legally get any specific app you want for free, but using these services on the regular can really up your odds of stumbling upon a killer deal and snatching it up. Some free app services come and go as legal agreements expire, but these have been chosen for their projected longevity and the amount of benefit they offer to regular users.
Did we miss anything though? What is your favorite way to ‘hack’ the system and get paid app content for free? Let us know in the comments!
NASA orders SpaceX to taxi astronauts to the ISS in 2017
Right now, flying to the International Space Station means leaving from Russia, but it won’t always be that way. Today, NASA announced that it officially ordered a crew rotation mission from Elon Musk’s SpaceX, due to launch sometime in 2017. This is actually the second mission order to come out of the space agency’s Commercial Crew Program — the first order being awarded to Boeing back in May — but it’s still not clear which commercial outfit will have the honor of playing taxi for astronauts first.
Source: NASA
Samsung Galaxy J3 is now available in China
Samsung is adding to it’s Galaxy J line up by introducing the Galaxy J3 to China through China Telecom. The Galaxy J3 features a 5-inch 720p Super AMOLED display, 1.2GHz quad-core CPU, 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, 8MP camera, 5MP front camera, and a 2,600mAh battery. It will also ship with Android 5.1.1.
The design is quite nice for a budget level phone, featuring similar styling to the Galaxy S6. It also comes in the three main S6 colors, black, white, and gold. Some may even like it more than the S6 because it has a microSD card slot capable of holding a 128GB microSD card. Unfortunately, Samsung has not listed a price yet.
Source: Samsung China
Come comment on this article: Samsung Galaxy J3 is now available in China
HTC has some great deals lined up for Black Friday and Cyber Monday
You have to spend money to save money! Just kidding.
But Black Friday and Cyber Monday really are great for saving money, if you were planning on spending money for presents in the holiday season anyways. HTC has some really great deals lined up for Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Weekend offers, and beyond. Check them out.
Starting Thanksgiving, Thursday Nov. 26 through Wednesday, Dec. 2:
- The new HTC One A9 can be as low as $0 if you trade in an iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s Plus for a $499.99 rebate (full price of the HTC One A9).
- Trade in a Samsung Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge for a $200 rebate
- Trade in a LG G3 or G4 for a $100 rebate
If you want the Google Nexus 9 tablet, here are the planned deals from Nov. 26-Nov. 27:
- 40% off all Nexus 9 tablets
- With the Nexus 9 LTE 32GB version, receive a free Logitech
Keyboard (first 500 units)
All accessories with be on sale over the weekend of Nov. 28 at 40% off.
- HTC One M9 and the fun little RE camera on sale: Monday, November 30 –
Wednesday, December 2 – http://www.htc.com/us/hotdeals - 60% off RE camera
- Free RE Protection Pack with your RE Camera (first 900 units)
- 40% off HTC One M9
If you’re interested in saving money, make sure to get in on these deals as soon as possible. The offers are while supplies last.
The post HTC has some great deals lined up for Black Friday and Cyber Monday appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Shift is a debit card for your bitcoin wallet
Even though the banking industry and US regulators are getting on board the bitcoin train, actually spending your hard-mined bitcoins can be a bit tricky. Luckily, Coinbase debuted a solution on Friday: the Shift debit card. It’s the first such bitcoin-based debit card issued in the US and is backed by VISA. With it, bitcoin users will be able to shop at both on- and offline stores — basically anywhere that VISA is accepted. The card is linked to your Signing up for the card simply requires filling out this form and paying the $10 issuance fee (in bitcoin of course).
Source: Coinbase
Chill optional: 51 percent of US internet users watch Netflix
Netflix’s robust content library has helped it top nearly 70 million subscribers worldwide. Not surprisingly, the majority of those come from the US, where the streaming service has over 43 million customers alone. And, for the most part, people here seem to be fond of it. According to a survey conducted by research firm RBC Capital Markets, and first reported by Quartz, more than half of US internet users say they’ve used Netflix to watch a movie or TV show in the past 12 months. The study also asked people about what other video offerings they use regularly: YouTube came in a close second, right behind Netflix, followed by Amazon Instant Video, Hulu and HBO Go, respectively.
Source: Quartz, RBC Capital Markets
Apple Shares New Apple Pay for iPhone Guided Tour
Following the launch of Apple Pay in Australia and Canada earlier this week, Apple has shared a new Apple Pay Guided Tour video that walks users through how to use Apple Pay on their iPhones.
The video goes through the steps of making a payment at an NFC terminal with a finger on the Touch ID home button of an iPhone and it covers the security behind Apple Pay. Apple Pay shares no credit card numbers or personal information with cashiers during the checkout process.
There’s also a walkthrough on how to set up Apple Pay through the Wallet app and details on using the payments service within an app.
Apple Pay is now available in the United States, the UK, Canada, and Australia, with the latter two countries receiving the service through a partnership with American Express. In 2016, Apple Pay will expand to Spain, Singapore, and Hong Kong through the same AMEX partnership.
Apple has previously published a number of Guided Tour videos, most recently sharing a video series that walks users through how to use the various features of Apple Music. In the past, Apple has also done quite a few Apple Watch Guided Tour videos to teach users how to unlock the full capabilities of the wrist-worn device.
Discuss this article in our forums
Get Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ album for free in the Google Play Store
The year was 1982. E.T. the Extra-terrestrial and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan were dominating the box office and Ronald Reagan was in the Whitehouse. Michael Jackson released his sixth studio album and basically almost broke MTV and the radio.
Thriller became the best selling album of all time within a year, and it’s a title it keeps to this day. It has gone Platinum in the U.S. a jaw-dropping 29 times. Its titular track had an iconic and game changing music video, and “Beat it” and “Billie Jean” are two more of seven total singles to come from the album.
See also: Podcasts are finally coming to Google Play Music
Now you don’t have to pay a dime to get this piece of pop history into your ears. The Google Play Store is offering an exclusive version of the album for streaming or MP3 download absolutely free. How can you not take advantage of this? There are literally no downsides.
From what I’m able to determine, the thing that makes this version unique is an added 1981 “Home Demo” of “Billie Jean.” Don’t worry. You get the standard version of “Billie Jean” too.
9to5Google has complained a little about the audio quality of this version of the album, but I’ve been listening to it the entire time I’ve been writing this and it sounds just fine to me.
Thriller usually goes for $10 in the Google Play Store, but you can get it for free by just clicking this button.
Sony CEO shoots down rumors regarding sale of their mobile business, in-house chipset
Last month, Sony CEO Kazou Hirai talked about the company’s willingness to “consider alternative options” if their mobile business didn’t see profit in 2016. Some interested parties read into this somewhat vague statement that Sony was considering selling their mobile business entirely. In an interview this week, the CEO affirmed that Sony has no intention of making such a sale, and he also put rumors to rest regarding the possibility of Sony making their own chipset in-house.
See also: Sony weighing up options if smartphones are unprofitable next year
Speculations that Sony would be entering the chip market have their origins in an article from Digitimes, which noted that such a maneuver by Sony would let the Tokyo tech titan snag a piece of the market currently competed for by Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Spreadtrum Communications. Since Sony kind of has a tendency to keep their projects under wraps, the idea that such a complex venture might be under way really wasn’t that much of a stretch.
Kazuro Hirai put the kibosh on these rumors in a interview this week in China. He denied any alleged plans for Sony chipsets, and in regards to the idea that the mobile division of the company may be up for sale in the next two years, the CEO stuck with the statements made by Sony back in July that Sony Mobile “will never ever sell or exit from the current mobile business.”
Whatever “alternative options” the company is considering will have to be pretty revolutionary. Sony has been struggling for almost the last decade, with previously lucrative markets like their television sales getting undercut by Korean competitors. Their mobile division has had an especially rocky time, and the company as a whole has already undergone multiple restructurings and cutbacks.
The plan that Kazuro Hirai identified in the interview included further restructuring, with trims to production costs increasing profits and an expanding line of products garnering more sales.
Mini review video: Our verdict on the iPad Pro in under a minute
Had trouble reading every single word of my iPad Pro review? It’s okay, writing all of those words was kind of hard, too. For those of you with shorter attention spans, here’s the abridged version: Apple’s biggest-ever tablet isn’t for me, but it could be a compelling choice for two types of people. Namely, creative types who want to get work done on the go and plan to make good use of the optional Apple Pencil; and early adopters who just want the biggest, fastest possible iPad, and are willing to pay a premium for it. With no mouse support, a non-adjustable screen angle and an OS that isn’t as well-suited to multitasking as OS X or Windows 10, it doesn’t come close to replacing your laptop. But depending on your needs, it could serve as a decent stand-in when you’re away from your primary machine.
AIVAnet 