Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store • Hacker News Board

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#81

Post by bhaavan » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 1:41 PM UTC

baybal2 wrote: post #49

India has a following issue with Android ecosystem, almost everything not owned by Google, is owned by some Chinese co. GetJar - sold to Chinese PayTM - Chinese shareholder Flipcart - Chinese shareholder Zomato, swiggy, + 10+ others online delivery/logistics apps. Some used to be reskins of Chinese apps. Some only have Indian C-levels. 20 something messengers - all except FB, and Twiter are Chinese ... I believe they…

Do you know reality, like at all? GetJar: I am hearing of this app for the first time, and I have seen and used many indian phones.

Flipkart, Zomato, Swiggy are Indian companies with apps completely developed in India. Walmart has a major shareholding stake in Flipkart since a few years now.

PayTM is also fully developed and operated in India, but yes, it does have Alibaba backing it. However, it was not at all considered for an app ban. If at all, many cash less policies by government are aimed to help it to move the country to digital payments.

No, there are not 20 something messengers. There is one mainly used messenger called WhatsApp.

Yes, there were a few Chinese apps / chinese owned apps, widely popular. They were PubG, TikTok and UC browser. All of them were fungible, and have been banned.

Also, no, Indian Android phones are not "cheap third world phones without Google App Store pre-installed". A lot of them do come in the 150$-300$ price range, but all of them have fully certified Android, passing VTS. In the 100s of phones I have seen, I haven't seen a single such phone. There are some phones (JioPhones) which do exist, but they are built on KaiOS which is a fork of Firefox OS. They obviously don't have Play Store installed.

Also you have really funny spelling skills.

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#82

Post by abrbhat » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 1:45 PM UTC

It seems most people are arguing that the only alternative to 2 app stores is a large number of app stores. But what if the alternative is no app stores? Anyone can install whatever software they want on their device from wherever they want it. Just like it works for desktops. The need for app stores is an artificially created need (by the marketing brilliance of Jobs).

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#83

Post by ethbr0 » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 1:49 PM UTC

maneesh wrote: post #54

pojntfx wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... or they could just create a PWA and publish it on the free and open web and have the app be available globally in 40s w/o any regulations or artificial restrictions.

Except the ability to send push notifications, which is paramount to retention and revenue

> retention and revenue

By which you mean, pissing off power users?

Or as Google puts it in equally bullshit terms:

> They allow your users to opt-in to timely updates and allow you to effectively re-engage users with customized content.

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#84

Post by bhaavan » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 1:49 PM UTC

abrbhat wrote: post #82

It seems most people are arguing that the only alternative to 2 app stores is a large number of app stores. But what if the alternative is no app stores? Anyone can install whatever software they want on their device from wherever they want it. Just like it works for desktops. The need for app stores is an artificially created need (by the marketing brilliance of Jobs).

I would argue that an App Store, on mobile has helped avoid virus, and malware on phones, unlike how Windows was able to contain it. Having a trusted App Store by a company, who understands security, and has a financial backing to commit to a secure system, is beneficial all the way down.

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#85

Post by amitheonlyone » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 1:50 PM UTC

surendrajat wrote: post #69

amitheonlyone wrote: post #35

What is their aim by having an alternate app store? Maybe make the manufacturers install it by default as a system app with all the permissions enabled by default? It'd be pretty easy to have a control over what people are seeing or using if so. It's just guess work but I wouldn't be surprised if this is the idea.

It will never be easy to control what people use in India. Also if I won't have to pay $25 just to publish my free app to users, I will be much happier. And if I decide to monetize it, I will again perfer to pay Indian govt a cut than others. Google already knows what I think and what I am doing and it fulfills govt requests too, with precise details so it's better that India govt sees it directly. At least I know ho…

You really don't have to control though. Information itself is enough in the most part. As you said, Google already knows, but it has it's own procedure in fulfilling government requests. With the information directly in the hands of the government, that barrier is gone.

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#86

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 1:51 PM UTC

maneesh wrote: post #54

pojntfx wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... or they could just create a PWA and publish it on the free and open web and have the app be available globally in 40s w/o any regulations or artificial restrictions.

Except the ability to send push notifications, which is paramount to retention and revenue

[deleted]

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#87

Post by Wowfunhappy » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 1:52 PM UTC

joshuaissac wrote: post #67

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s possible Apple won’t have a choice if they want to sell phones in India. India is a huge and growing market, I’m not sure Apple can afford to give that up...

Apple's FY2019 revenue in India was ₹10,538.3 crore ($1.50 billion),[1] which is 0.58% of its global revenue of $260.17 billion.[2] India has a growing smartphone market, but it does not yet have a large market for Apple products. 1. https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/apple-india-s-reve... 2. https://www.statista.com/statistics/265125/total-net-sales-o...

I’d think it would be a pretty key area for expansion though, just given the sheer size of India’s population and their growing wealth.

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#88

Post by adventured » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 1:52 PM UTC

pojntfx wrote: post #47

risyachka wrote: post #17

It will be a special kind of joy for small developers to publish their apps on a billion stores each with its own regulations.

... or they could just create a PWA and publish it on the free and open web and have the app be available globally in 40s w/o any regulations or artificial restrictions.

There is no 'free and open web,' that's long in the past now, to the extent it ever existed (for about 10-15 years in a limited form).

Which countries partake in this supposed free and open web? None.

There are dozens of separately regulated prominent webs now and that's going to get a lot worse this decade. We're never going back, nations are not going to give up the control they're assuming, it will splinter further and further; complexity will grow, accessing foreign markets will become more onerous. It'll gradually fully mirror the physical world, where if you want to travel to another nation, or do business in another nation (access their market), you will have to comply with all of their myriad of local regulations (which will continue to grow rapidly in number and complexity).

Nations will fence off their citizens online, and you will have to comply to access them. We're already seeing this directional shift in many nations, it will spread comprehensively.

Turkey's web is not regulated the same as India's web which is not regulated the same as China's web which is not regulated the same as the EU's web which is not regulated the same as Brazil's web which is not regulated the same as Australia's web which is not regulated the same as the US web which is not regulated the same as Britain's web and so on.

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#89

Post by ignoramous » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 1:55 PM UTC

bhaavan wrote: post #81

baybal2 wrote: post #49

India has a following issue with Android ecosystem, almost everything not owned by Google, is owned by some Chinese co. GetJar - sold to Chinese PayTM - Chinese shareholder Flipcart - Chinese shareholder Zomato, swiggy, + 10+ others online delivery/logistics apps. Some used to be reskins of Chinese apps. Some only have Indian C-levels. 20 something messengers - all except FB, and Twiter are Chinese ... I believe they…

Do you know reality, like at all? GetJar: I am hearing of this app for the first time, and I have seen and used many indian phones. Flipkart, Zomato, Swiggy are Indian companies with apps completely developed in India. Walmart has a major shareholding stake in Flipkart since a few years now. PayTM is also fully developed and operated in India, but yes, it does have Alibaba backing it. However, it was not at all consi…

> Also you have really funny spelling skills.

Uncalled for.

Be kind. Don't be snarky. Have curious conversation; don't cross-examine. Please don't fulminate. Please don't sneer, including at the rest of the community.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: Modi government to set up app store alternative to Google Play, Apple App Store

#90

Post by notsureaboutpg » Sat, Oct 03, 2020, 1:57 PM UTC

cardy31 wrote: post #68

vijaybritto wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

lol would get removed? This is a fascist govt. They'll ban Google and Apple stores in a whim.

India is a democracy...

To outsiders, it's a democracy because they've been told that.

To Modi bhakts it's a democracy because they are in power.

To regular people, it's very clear it's a democracy like Russia is a democracy. The govt pays large amounts of people to misinform the populace online. The government uses martial law to impose Internet lockdown for over a year on any citizens who resist govt's crimes against them. There's no free press (check press freedom indices), without which democracy is in name only.