Things are looking up for developers building apps on Android and Windows Phone 7 this week, in two separate announcements bringing good news to both platforms.
Late last night, Google announced that Android applications are now able to use "in-app" purchases to increase monetisation opportunities. The in-app purchasing mechanism allows developers to charge users small fees to "unlock" little pieces of content in their apps without requiring users to leave the application at all. A similar concept has been available on the iOS platform for over a year now, and has enabled many applications which use a free-to-play model, making money by charging for upgrades, extra in-app resources, and other similar ideas. There is links to information for developers in the Android Developers post on the subject.
Meanwhile, among recent rumours that the iPhone 5 will not come with so-called NFC (near-field communication) payment support, it is now alleged that Microsoft are working on bring NFC payment technology to Windows Phone 7. Android version 2.3 already has support for NFC and it is integrated on the Nexus S device, but there is no payment option as yet. There's also talk of Windows Phone 7 taking second place in the mobile market by 2015.
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