Two Android users have filed a lawsuit against Google after they download Android apps that were apparently defective.
Then California residents Dodd Harris and Stephen Sabatino downloaded the releases from Android Market recently rebranded Google Play and attempted to secure a refund once they discovered the apps were faulty.
However, given Google only allows users to 'return' apps within 15 minutes of purchase, their attempts were blocked.
A matter of time
Google's currently policy hasn't always been in place, however. Before changes made in 2010, Android users had a 48 hour window in which to return apps for a refund.
Harris and Sabatino's suit asserts that the marketplace's current time-limit is unfair, with both customers demanding Google take responsibility for ensuring that the applications it sells on Google Play of which there are now more than 450,000 work as described.
In contrast, Apple's App Store doesn't allow app refunds full stop, though the company claims its walled garden approach is designed to ensure full functionality of all its library across iPhone, iPad and iPod touch OS versions withstanding.
Suit up
The suit seeks damages not only for Harris and Sabatino, but all other 'similarly situated' residents of California, which as mocoNews notes has some of the strongest consumer-protection laws in the US.
The apps in question were not games - Learn Chinese Mandarin Pro ($4.83) and a BitTorrent client aBTC ($4.99) the faulty titles but any ruling could have a profound impact on developers across the Android ecosystem should it go against Google.
[source: mocoNews]
News
Related Articles
News
Apr 20th, 2024
PocketGamer.biz Podcast Week in Views E08 - The UK games industry's skills crisis, Fallout's TV success, and Epic's endless court battles
Top Stories
News
May 28th, 2024
PocketGamer.biz Podcast - ustwo games’ María Sayans on the sustainable strategy behind Monument Valley
Feature
14 minutes ago
Mobile Mavens: The industry wades in on Squad Busters from its “transformative impact” to being “corporate box ticking”
Feature
May 28th, 2024
Hot Five: Disney x Fortnite, Sega’s sonic speed, and a potential Keywords Studios buyout
Events
Unreal Fest Gold Coast 2024 | Australasia | May 29th |
For The Win 2024 | Europe | May 29th |
Indie Craft K-Game Festival 2024 | Europe | May 31st |
Indie Game Fest & Indie Campus 2024 | Europe | May 31st |
Game Access Conference 2024 | Europe | May 31st |
GDCy Fest 2024 | May 31st | |
GameSummit Summer 2024 | Jun 1st | |
Gaymer Pride | North America | Jun 1st |