What are the analogues of the Play Market: alternatives to the application store. Alternatives to Google Play Market (Google Play) - Reviews

Despite the fact that the Google Play application store is in great demand among users, more and more similar stores for downloading applications are appearing. They are available not only thanks to the developers of free services, but also to Google, which does not block every analogue of the Play Market.

Recently, Android has taken the position of the most popular OS. Managing smartphones, tablet computers, laptops, e-readers, watches, digital players, game consoles, TVs and other devices, it is a worthy competitor to the MS Windows operating system. And to a large extent, this success is due to the Google Play service (formerly known as the Android Market), which offers a wide selection of gaming applications, books, music and movies. But it is programs that are the most popular product, the total number of which amounts to more than two million. Few people know that Google Play is the official, but far from the only store for the Android OS. Below is a list of the latest and most relevant analogues, with a description of the advantages of each. There are several reasons to use alternative versions. First of all, other markets may offer more favorable conditions. To attract audiences, small stores often hold promotions for users, during which various applications are given away absolutely free or at a good discount.

Amazon Appstore (Download)

This analogue of the Play Market is a serious competitor to Google. The application has a simple, intuitive interface that even an inexperienced user can understand. To get acquainted with all available programs, just press the “A” key. All products are divided into separate groups, depending on cost, time of publication and evaluation. Thanks to this, choosing the necessary program will not be difficult.

F-Droid (Download)

The main advantage of this store is the ability to download any programs from the catalog completely free of charge. At the same time, the downloaded software undergoes a strict antivirus scan, and application developers send source codes. Therefore, you should not worry about the security of this service. The only significant drawback is the lack of a filter system for a more convenient and simpler search.

Yandex Store (Download)

This analogue of the Play Market is a development of the domestic corporation of the same name. The program catalog covers over ten thousand titles. But the key advantage of the store is its focus on the Russian Federation and Russian-speaking users. This is reflected in the Russian interface, a thorough check of the proposed software by domestic experts and anti-virus applications. At the same time, the store offers several convenient ways to pay for services: a bank card, electronic currency, mobile phone balance or bonus points accumulated on purchases.

Mobogenie (Download)

This universal market is not just a store, but also a convenient download manager from well-known video hosting sites, a service for managing your phone, mp3 music files, an editor for social networks, and more. It has wide functionality. If we talk exclusively about the application catalog, it is very similar to the Play Market. Here you can install a wide variety of gaming programs and any music for your smartphone.

SlideME (Download)

SlideME is another worthy analogue of the play market for downloading all kinds of programs. The catalog includes a large number of little-known independent manufacturers, but this does not mean that it lacks popular applications. The main feature of the store is that thanks to it you can download free applications via your computer without having to register in the system itself. In addition to strict antivirus scanning, each application is strictly monitored for excessive advertising and system uselessness. If you are interested in data protection issues, this option is what you really need.

AppsLib (Download)

This service is the brainchild of the French developer Archos, which creates high-quality, affordable Android devices. This market is focused primarily on tablet computers. Currently, more than two million people use it. The catalog covers at least 100 thousand items. Despite this, the market is popular among developers of budget products. The main feature and advantage of the store is that application descriptions, in addition to information about available functions, contain information about the compatibility of each program with certain devices.

Opera Mobile Store (Download)

This analogue of the Play Market is an application store designed for smartphone owners. The project was launched in the spring of 2011 and within a few years managed to enter the top of the best markets. The service offers the ability to download software for more than 7,000 different models of mobile devices running on various platforms (for a total of about 300,000 items). You do not need to install a manager program to work. The store operates directly in the browser. This greatly simplifies the first steps.

Dear readers! If you have any questions or comments on the topic of the article, please leave them below.

Today, not everyone is comfortable with the standard app store for Android devices, so they are looking for alternatives to Google Play. This happens for various reasons. So, some people don’t like the choice of applications, others don’t like a large number of uninteresting games, in general, there can be many reasons. Therefore, today we will look at what alternative options for Google Play exist and the features of each of these resources.

1. Amazon Appstore

Many people call this resource the best alternative to Google Play Market. And this is not at all surprising, since the Amazon Appstore is the largest online store in the USA! There is absolutely everything that a user's soul could desire. Of course, initially this store was intended only for users of Amazon Kindle devices, but everyone else can also come here and download any applications.

Rice. No. 1. Amazon Appstore on your computer

The features of this resource are:

• Permanent discounts on paid programs. A large number of promotions are also held here. For example, sometimes you can buy a utility for $5 or more and get another one completely free.
• There is a constant drawing of paid versions - they are provided to users completely free of charge.
• A large number of free programs (as of October 2016, almost 500,000 pieces).
• Very convenient site interface. The Amazon Appstore has a very convenient search for applications. You can search for them by name, by rating, filter by price, or specify the device version and see which programs are suitable for it. The latter is only relevant for Amazon Kindle users.

The only inconvenience that Android users may experience is that some applications will not work on their devices. Although this doesn't happen very often. On the other hand, not all applications downloaded from the Google Play Market will work on all Android devices. All in all, Amazon Appstore is truly one of the best, if not the best alternative to Google Play.

2. Aptoid

It is the main rival of Amazon Appstore. There are almost the same number of applications, but a slightly different approach to which of them are laid out “on the counter”. The fact is that the creators of Aptoid do not cooperate with any other large companies, but only with developers directly.

This means that anyone can put their development on public display and not pay anything for it. This is already a store where only Android applications are located. Programs for other operating systems are not supported here.

Rice. No. 3. Amazon Appstore on your computer

Aptoid features are as follows:

• A developer can not only upload his application to the store, but also create his own store and sell his developments there.
• The main page displays all newly created stores and newly added offers.
• Each developer has his own page where he can monitor his income, upload new utilities, see if the programs that are already on the site are popular, and so on.
• All of the above functions can be performed not only directly on the website, but also in a special application that can be installed on any device with the Android platform.

Thus, Aptoid is not just a store with software, but a huge platform that allows developers and those who simply distribute applications from some development team to realize their full potential. Thus, Aptoid is the best resource for aspiring programmers and advertisers.

3. Opera Mobile Store

As you can easily understand from the name, this store belongs to the well-known browser. There are slightly fewer offers here than the two resources described above - approximately 300,000 pieces. But this is still quite a lot. There are not only those programs that run on the Android platform.

Users of iOS, BlackBerry, Symbian, Windows Mobile and even Java will be very pleased to see many useful applications here. A lot of free programs and a user-friendly interface make Opera Mobile Store a very good option for users.

Rice. No. 5. Opera Mobile Store on your computer

Features of Opera Mobile Store are:

• This store does not need to be installed anywhere - it works directly in the Opera browser. Thus, to use it, you just need to have a browser installed.
• A large number of free games and programs. Each has its own rating.
• All utilities are conveniently divided into categories.

Like the two stores described above, each application is reviewed before being released to the public. In general, it is also a very worthy and free alternative to Goole Play Market.

4. Yandex.Store

There are even fewer offers here - about 100,000. But they are all aimed at users from Russia and other countries where Russian is spoken. Accordingly, preference here is given to developers from the Russian Federation and neighboring countries. In addition, Russian users will also find it very convenient here.

They can pay for paid options with WebMoney and Yandex.Money, and not just with a bank card. And in general, the choice of applications is made in such a way as to focus on the Slavic user. So there are a lot of card games, games based on Soviet cartoons and the like.

The features of Yandex.Store are:

• It only works in the shell, which you need to download and install. This store is not available in browser mode.
• Users receive 10% of each purchase returned to their account. True, they come only in the form of bonuses, but they can also be spent on various games and utilities.
• All applications are checked by antiviruses and specialists from the store itself. The check here is quite strict.

Thus, we can say that Yandex.Store is the best option for a Russian-speaking user.

5. Slide.ME

This store can be called the safest to use for users. The fact is that each application here undergoes a very strict selection process. According to statistics, 2 out of 3 applications that are proposed for publication are rejected and not accepted. The selection criteria here are quite serious.

So the application should not have too many ads, it should not have too many rights, it should have a high level of protection for user data, and much more. In general, what remains after such a selection is definitely safe and definitely interesting.

Rice. No. 9. Slide.ME on your computer

Features of Slide.ME:

• A very simple, but corporate-style interface. Dark tones predominate here, and it all looks very impressive.
• All games and programs are available for download through a separate application. By the way, it is designed exactly the same as the official website.
• The site has a blog in which store employees write about which applications are best to download, the latest trends in the world of developers, and much more interesting things.

Slide.ME is the safest and also partly free alternative to Google Play, which has its own style and approach to doing things. This deserves attention.

6.AppsLib

It is the brainchild of Archos, a famous French company that produces mobile phones and tablets, which are then sold at very low prices. In fact, this is their own application library, which, however, most programs end up with after Google Play.

But there are also those that are not there and that developers give only to AppsLib and to no one else. True, there are very few of them. AppsLib is especially suitable for those devices that have a slightly “cropped” or malfunctioning operating system.

Rice. No. 11. Games in AppsLib

Features of AppsLib:

• Also a very simple interface, as simple as possible. As we see in Figure 6, in the main window of the AppsLib application there are only two sections - “Selection” and “TOP 50”. The first displays selected programs and games that are selected by the editors, and the second displays those that are most often downloaded.
• The application also has the ability to select by category, year, rating or other criteria, as well as search by name.
• The app automatically detects which device it's opening on and can show a list based on that.

AppsLib is definitely worth a look.

7.F-Droid

This is a free store for free users. There is not a single paid program or game here. Moreover, each program is posted along with a link to the source code. Thus, F-Droid is a store where there is only free software.

Any user can take any application, modify it, or completely change it and put it up for sale in another store. At the same time, there are quite interesting projects that will be of interest to many users. Here you won’t find identical and standard e-readers or other applications with the same interface; everything is done in a very non-standard way, with a twist and the author’s approach.

Rice. No. 13. Programs and settings in F-Droid

Features of F-Droid:

• The application shows a list of all those programs and games that were installed through it.
• Almost all applications have old versions - if the new one does not work, you can install the old one.
• There are no ads in the applications. But it is in everything that is downloaded from Google Play.

F-Droid is a great alternative to GP, which, among other things, is completely free.

The other day I made rutracker to bypass the blocking, but I have already been rejected by Google twice for various far-fetched reasons. This was very upsetting, and the question arose - what to do? A search on the hub showed that many people had such problems (proofs:, ... Thousands of them).
And besides the ban, there are many more reasons why your application may be “overboard” from Google Play - for example, if it is intended for use only in a company, for friends, or for another circle of people. It is also possible that your application, by definition, cannot be posted on Google Play - for example, if it is itself an application installer.

I couldn’t find a ready-made article on this topic, so I decided that the right solution would be to figure it out and write my own. So, there are only two fundamental options.

1. Use an alternative application store

Pros:

• The presence of some features that we are used to in Google Play - including automatic updates, statistics and billing (not all of them, of course).
• At least some authority from the publisher - worse than if the application was on Google Play, but better than nothing.
• Custom features - for example, F-Droid publishes only open source applications.

Cons:

• Loss of image. All users are accustomed to the fact that the application must be downloaded from Google Play. If it's not there, it means something is wrong. Although, for example, Yandex.Store is not on Google Play. And you have to download it using a very weird method...
• The user will have to install some kind of “left” application store. I haven’t had anything other than Google Play since the advent of Android, and I had no intention of installing it. Installing another “big brother” with full capabilities to manipulate your device is quite scary.
• None of them seem to have any crash information. Plus other Google Play features including billing.

2. Independent decision

By the way, even if your application is successfully published on Google Play, it makes sense to play it safe and at least create your own update algorithm in it, which is activated if, for example, the application has not been updated for a long time. Or by checking the ban on your server or directly on Google Play. Otherwise, if you are banned for some time, users will not be able to update the application. And if there is a backup option, there will be noticeably less harm.

Pros

Cons

• Everything that is possible has to be done manually.
• The loss in image, which was already mentioned earlier. Oddly enough, perhaps less than in the case of using a certain application store.

So what do you have to do:

Posting an application for download

Debugging errors

Collection of statistics

Complex Libraries

Update

1. Automatic update if you have SuperUser rights. This is pretty weird, but understandable - we won’t look at it in detail.
2. Manual update after automatic download. Not bad, but requires permission to write data. If your application does not have it planned, then setting extra permissions is evil. Requires the user to give permission to install programs from third-party sources.
3. Manual update when following a link. A simple option, however, it requires the user to download and open the APK file. Well, the same as the second option - it requires permission from the user to install programs from third-party sources.

To show how simple everything is, I’ll show a primitive implementation of the third option,

which I made for my application in an hour.

1. Add your current version of the application somewhere. I put it directly into the sources on Github in build.gradle:
// releaseVersionCode 5

2. We publish application releases somewhere. I also have them on github, in the format
String url="https://github.com/jehy/rutracker-free/releases/download/" + version+"/app-release.apk";

3. We write the actual update algorithm:

3.1 in MainActivity.OnCreate we add a check call:
new Updater().execute(this);

3.2 We write a simple class for testing:
class Updater extends AsyncTask ( private Exception exception; protected Void doInBackground(MainActivity... activity) ( checkUpdates(activity); return null; ) Integer getLastAppVersion() ( try ( // Create a URL for the desired page URL url = new URL("https: //raw.githubusercontent.com/jehy/rutracker-free/master/app/build.gradle"); // Read all the text returned by the server BufferedReader in = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(url.openStream())) ; String str; while ((str = in.readLine()) != null) ( int f = str.indexOf("releaseVersionCode"); if (f != -1) ( str = str.substring(f + ​​( "releaseVersionCode").length()).trim(); Log.d("Rutracker free", "Last release version: " + str); return Integer.parseInt(str) ) in.close(); .d("Rutracker free", "Failed to get last release version!"); catch (Exception e) ( Log.d("Rutracker free", "Failed to get last release version:"); e.printStackTrace( ); ) return null; ) void checkUpdates(final MainActivity activity) ( final Integer lastAppVersion = getLastAppVersion(); if (lastAppVersion == null) return; if (lastAppVersion<= BuildConfig.VERSION_CODE) { Log.d("Rutracker free", "App version is okay, skipping update"); return; } String li = SettingsManager.get(activity, "LastIgnoredUpdateVersion"); if (li != null) { Integer liInt = Integer.parseInt(li); if (liInt >= lastAppVersion) return; ) activity.Update(lastAppVersion); ) )

3.3 Add a class to store information that the user has decided to ignore this release:
public class SettingsManager ( static String get(Context mContext, String key) ( SharedPreferences settings = PreferenceManager .getDefaultSharedPreferences(mContext); String data = settings.getString(key, null); if (data == null) Log.d("SettingsManager ", "No settings " + key + " is stored! "); else Log.d("SettingsManager", "Got settings " + key + " equal to " + data); return data; ) @SuppressLint("CommitPrefEdits" ) static void put(Context mContext, String key, String value) ( ​​SharedPreferences settings = PreferenceManager .getDefaultSharedPreferences(mContext); SharedPreferences.Editor editor = settings.edit(); editor.putString(key, value); Log.d(" SettingsManager", "Saved setting " + key + " equal to " + value); editor.commit(); ) )

3.4 Add a function that will show the user a dialog with a transition suggestion:
public void Update(final Integer lastAppVersion) ( runOnUiThread(new Runnable() ( @Override public void run() ( AlertDialog.Builder builder = new AlertDialog.Builder(MainActivity.this); builder.setMessage("Update of the rutracker free application is available to version " + lastAppVersion + " - would you like to update? " + "If you agree, you will be redirected to download the APK file," + "which you will then need to open.") .setCancelable(true) .setPositiveButton("Yes", new DialogInterface .OnClickListener() ( public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int id) ( Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW); String apkUrl = "https://github.com/jehy/rutracker-free/releases/download/" + lastAppVersion + "/app-release.apk"; //intent.setDataAndType(Uri.parse(apkUrl), "application/vnd.android.package-archive"); intent.setData(Uri.parse(apkUrl)); intent.setFlags(Intent.FLAG_ACTIVITY_NEW_TASK); startActivity(intent); dialog.dismiss()) .setNegativeButton("No", new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() ( public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int id) ( SettingsManager. put(MainActivity.this, "LastIgnoredUpdateVersion", lastAppVersion.toString()); dialog.cancel(); ) )); AlertDialog alert = builder.create(); alert.show(); ) )); )

Voila! That's it, now we have an updated application. And if it ever appears on Google Play or another application store that the user has, then it can be updated from there as well.

Conclusions

I also want to get opinions from readers.

1. How do you solve problems with application bans?
2. Do you use alternative app stores?
3. Do you install applications from some other sites via apk?
4. How do you think we will install applications on our devices in five years?

If developers or publishers create an app on Android, they will be hosted by Google Play by default. It is by far the largest Android market with more than 900,000 applications. But over time, publishers have learned and it is beneficial to strategically distribute applications for publication on various platforms, including alternative Android markets.

Amazon App Store for Android

Most developers and publishers know that the Amazon App Store is the first contender to replace Google Play. It opened its doors in 2011 and currently has about 100 thousand applications, mainly for Amazon Kindle devices. This is 800,000 less than Google, but the quality of these applications is much higher on Amazon, and there are not only Android applications, but also HTML5 web applications. The Amazon App Store is available in more than 200 countries.

Opera Mobile Store

Opera launched its own app store back in 2011, but it houses browser-based apps that can run on Android, Windows Phone, iOS, Symbian, Java, HTML5, and even Blackberry. The Opera Market is a popular alternative among Android users, with 60 million monthly visitors and 100,000 apps available for download across all platforms.

Samsung Apps Mobile

The Samsung store is also one of the leading contenders to replace Google Play, and with good reason. Samsung is the leader in mobile phone sales with a 30.4 percent share of the global smartphone market. Samsung pays attention to the quality of its apps and has a strict review process, scrutinizing apps for malicious code and compatibility issues. Users can rest assured that apps in Samsung Apps are safe to download.

LG Smart World

Exclusive for LG phones. LG may not be as good as Samsung, but it's making progress with 108.6 percent year-over-year growth and a 5.1 percent share of the global smartphone market. And we can’t ignore the third player after Samsung and Apple in the market of smartphones and applications for them.

1Mobile

If there is an Android market that is made for discovering new applications, it is 1Mobile.

Mobango

Partnering with major gaming studios including Disney, Halfbrick and Zeptolabs, MOBANGO is an app store that rivals corporate marketplaces and isn't shy about what it has accomplished to date. On the home page, you'll find that the store has over 100,000 apps, 40,000 developers, and over 8 million users across all platforms.

Mobile9

Mobile9 is part social network and part app store. Mobile9 works by encouraging its users to share and discover new apps that their friends download. Mobile9, unfortunately, does not have any quality control. So users should handle Mobile9 with caution if they plan on downloading. We recommend publishing your app on the markets mentioned above before experimenting with Mobile9 and other alternative android markets.

Soc.io

Soc.io is the smallest app store on the list with just 10,000 apps (including games), but there are several major App Store players including Twitter, Cute the Rope, etc. Soc.io is also an online bookstore.

The Google Play Store is perhaps what makes Android so attractive. A huge selection of applications for every taste, including many free ones, makes this operating system especially popular and even gives rise to special ones. However, not all users and not all devices can access this store. For example, it is not integrated into Kindle. Not having access to the Play Store does not mean you can't use Android apps. After all, there are alternatives to the search giant's official application store.

AndroidPIT columnist Loie Favre listed the top five, in her opinion, alternative app stores for Android. It should be noted that it is preferable to go to the Play Store rather than third-party stores. Any user who installs from other sources should remember that Google has no influence on the quality and safety of the content of these stores. And even if there is the slightest doubt, you should refrain from taking this step.

1.

GetJar is an alternative application store with a rich selection of programs. They can be displayed in categories and subcategories, almost the same as in the Google Play Store. GetJar is not only for Android devices. The store also contains applications for other platforms, including iOS, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile.

2.

The second alternative to the Google Play Store is the SlideMe application marketplace, where you can find paid and free programs for Android. When choosing an application, market visitors can be guided by ratings compiled by other users. Moreover, applications are manually verified after testing them.

Applications can be sorted. The user can specify that new, updated, or highest rated content be displayed first. There are also traditional categories, including “Education”, “Lifestyle”, “Languages” and others. To access the store, you can use not only its website, but also.

3. Amazon Appstore for Android

The famous bookselling company Amazon has not remained aloof from the Android application market. On the virtual shelves of its software store for the world's most popular mobile OS are both paid and free applications. And sometimes paid ones become free. The company has seriously taken up the mobile market and just recently once again strengthened its role in it by introducing a not quite ordinary .

All apps are divided into different categories, including new apps released in the last 30 or 90 days. Users can rate apps hosted in the store. To access the store, you first need to enable the installation of applications from unknown sources, which in itself is quite risky and is not recommended for those users who are not fully confident in what they are doing. And it is not recommended for anyone.

Once the download is complete, locate the downloaded AmazonApps-release.apk file, tap on it, and start the installation. If you do not have an account, you can request to create one. Kindle Fire users have this store pre-installed on their devices.

4.F-Droid

F-Droid is not your average Android app store. can be downloaded from the project website. This store mainly features open source (FOSS) applications that anyone can freely copy and use as they wish. Unlike other app stores, F-Droid runs on donations. You won't find any ratings or reviews in this minimalist store.

5.

AppsLib differs from other app stores in that it only contains software content for tablets. The AppsLib application is downloaded from the home page of this unique app library website. Apps are verified to be optimized for tablet devices and placed in appropriate categories. Payment is made via PayPal. Visitors to the store have access to rating information and comments from other users.

To create an account, the user must select a device from the list of supported ones. Unfortunately, many tablet brands are not represented there.

It must be said that it was stores with a rich selection of applications that made modern mobile platforms so popular. Even software selections for smartwatches.

Do you think it makes sense to use third-party app stores or is the Google Play Store sufficient for every Android user?