Android Market Application Updates

Question

A quick question about application updates on the Android market. If I have an application on the market and an update is released, is there a way to make sure that users download the new update?

those. Does the application inform you of an update or stop working until the update is downloaded?

Or should I write code in my applications to stop working after a certain period, forcing the user to download the new version?

Answer 1

Typically, the Market application allows the user to receive updates for one or more installed applications through a notification in the status bar, but users do not need to install the update.

I think that stopping the application working after a period of time, forcing the user to install a new update is not very good, because:

• The user may not want to update the application if it works. Updating many applications across the market can be difficult due to endless requests, so I sometimes need to update applications as soon as updates are available.
• This forces you to release possibly unnecessary updates when the previous version is about to time out.
• This is not very pleasant for users.

Why do you want to force user updates? If you explain the problem you are trying to solve by doing this, someone will be able to give you a better solution.

The only thing you can do to increase the likelihood that users will update the description of your application on the market is to include the benefits of the update, as users can read the description of the update before deciding whether to update.

Answer 2

I have heard of notifications that sometimes fire and sometimes not. My users tell me that they are NOT notified when I update the application, but when they view their “My Downloads” from the Market application on their phone, it shows “Update Available” next to the application. If they don’t go to My Downloads, they never know that an update is available.

"Or should I be writing code in my apps to stop working after a fixed period thus forcing the user to download the new version?" 

I would not recommend this if the application would no longer work without an update. The Android market is so inconsistent that sometimes applications disappear from My Downloads when the operator updates their system software on your user's phone. If this happens and your application expires, your users will not be able to access the application until Google fixes the problem, which may take a week or more.

Answer 3

You can check for new versions on your server, and then programmatically direct them to the market:

 startActivity(new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW, Uri.parse("market://details?id=com.yourapp...")));