I am developing an windows phone 8 application and want to maintain two versions of my app - free and paid. So that my app appear in both free and paid app sections.
Since these two applications will have different Product IDs, is it possible to buy paid app from inside the free app.
I know that if we use Trial API of WindowsPhone, we can purchase paid version from app itself and can unlock the features using IsTrial of LicenseInformation. But in this case your app doesn't appear in free section.
I want to allow user to buy paid app from free version say by clicking BUYNOW button in app and get the free version replaced by paid one automatically.
This is the exact scenario that Microsoft wants to avoid. They don't want to see duplicate apps in the market because it destroys the consistent user experience. Instead, you need to either use the Trial Library or release it for free and put an in app purchase to remove ads or add functionality.
Your only option is to maintain 2 apps one that limits functionality using IsTrial and the other with an in app purchase.
Some people have suggested this isn't allowed, but I've yet to find anything in the requirements documentation that says you can't do this. There's also quite a lot of examples of apps already in the store doing this.
Related
I want to develop service for synchronising user specific data within installations of my app. For instance, I have in-app consumable purchase in my app, lets say credits for a game. I need these credits to be shared between both mobile and desktop version of the application. But if user has only mobile or only desktop version, it is waste of resources to store historical purchase records for synchronisation. Current credits amount should be enough.
Maybe not really good example but should do for illustration. So is possible to know if user has both platform versions or he has only mobile/desktop version? Is there any proper API I would touch for the information from sync service or from the app?
Thanks for answers in regards
So is possible to know if user has both platform versions or he has only mobile/desktop version?
There is no official existing API to meet your entire requirement directly, but you can handle it by yourself. Using AnalyticsVersionInfo class to get the type of device the application is running on, especially the AnalyticsVersionInfo.DeviceFamily property.
For different platform, you can decide how to sync up your records.
I'm making a desktop app for a company, and they would like to get it featured in the windows app store for Windows 10 users.
The app will likely only work on desktop computers, it's not designed for mobile. What it does is perform lookups on lists of cell phone numbers, and outputs a spreadsheet with carrier info, and it requires a credit for each cell phone number looked up. The credits are bought in bulk through the company's sales team, there is no automated method to purchase them.
Because there is no automated system, it would be difficult to set up in-app purchases, also if Microsoft takes a cut of in-app payments then it wouldn't be feasible due to the tiny profit margin of the credits. But according to this (section 10.8.1), if the app consumes anything that has to be purchased then it needs to use the in-app purchasing api.
Does anyone know if there's some way around this? Or if it only applies to regular apps and not desktop only ones, which I understand are a different type of listing?
I realise I can get a developer account and go through this with them but I don't really want to spend this company's money on the dev account if Microsoft are just going to say no.
Thanks :)
That section of the policy refers to payments taken within the application.
It doesn't sound like what your application will do though. Your application is allowing the allocation (spending) of credits bought separately.
It's a small distinction but an important one. You may have seen other applications work around such limitations by requiring the user to go to a website to buy something and then return to the app to use it.
When submitting the app there is a declaration for "This app allows users to make purchases, but does not use the Windows Store commerce system." You can read more about this declaration at https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/mt148523.aspx but this shouldn't apply to your scenario.
There are potential legal implications here and if the company has any concerns about entering a legal agreement with Microsoft regarding financial matters then they should seek appropriate legal council. Having a developer ask other developers about legal matters is likely only suggest asking a lawyer.
I'm looking to buy a Windows Phone smartphone, and am looking into the possibility for 'deploying' private apps. I currently own an Android system, and it's a simple as building an APK file, and adding it to the filesystem of any phone I want to install it on.
I realize there have been some questions around this subject 1, 2, 3. They seem to say you either need a developers account, or an enterprise edition. These questions are old, and possibly outdated. I've tried to find more information on the topic, but all I could find was related to enterprise, or beta testing.
I have no interests in getting a developer's account, because I don't intend to develop or sell larger applications on the marketplace. It's mostly for private use.
If there is no way to do this by default (without paying any fees), are that alternatives that don't involve losing warranty?
You can register yourself in Windows App Studio and you will get to unlock one phone for development and side load up to 2 apps.
Currently that is the only way to put custom apps in your Windows Phone for free and without losing warranty.
If you, however register for a developer accout (which as you know has costs) you will be able to side load up to 10 apps in 3 different devices.
I have a windows store app which I built about two years ago. I released it as a free app, but now I'm thinking about switching to a trial / paid model. After the trial expires, the app would return to the free functionality and the user could pay to upgrade
My question is, can I replace a free app with a paid one?
By replace I mean, change the existing app to require payment, and keep the reviews etc. Is this possible?
Yes. You will need to follow the normal update process. Your new update should have the paid/trial functionality and when you upload the new version you can set a price. You can find help here http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/windows/apps/hh694065.aspx. If you want existing users to buy the app then you can look at in app purchasing.
I am in process of developing app for windows phone 8. I need the adhoc distribution of my app to all devices within the organization. I don't want to publish it on the market instead i want the installation of app on the devices within the organization.
Do i need to buy another account for adhoc distribution or i can use the same $99 account for adhoc distribution of app.
Thanks in advance.
Well there are multiple ways to distribute apps,
Directly via Visual Studio or XAPDeploy (however the device must be developer unlocked, and connected via usb)
Via the normal Store/Marketplace
Via Store/Marketplace, with "Hide from users browsing or searching the Store" so that only users with the direct link to the store can find the app
Via Beta app distribution
edit: beta apps now do not have a 3 month limit anymore. Only restriction is, that you can "only" have 10000 users and each users email must be manually added for them to be able to download the beta
Company app distribution, which is likely what you are looking for. (However this seems to be relatively difficult) More information here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsphone/develop/jj206943(v=vs.105).aspx
Edit: I missed this one: Using "Windows Intune Direct Management for Windows Phone 8 Mobile Devices"
There are no other ways I know of.