T-Mobile G1. Source: jonathansin on Flickr. License: CC-BY-SA 2.0
Macworld reports that the unlocked version of the T-Mobile G1 is not permitted to access Google’s Android Market.
Last week, Google employees began replying to questions people posted on the Android Market Help Web site about being unable to see copy protected applications in the store. “If you’re using an unlocked, developer phone, you’ll be unable to view any copy-protected application,” wrote Google employee Ash on the help site in reply to a user’s question on Friday. “This is a change that was made recently.”
While Google offered only slim details about why it made the change, it could be an attempt to close a loophole that reportedly allows users of the unlocked phone to download paid applications for free. “The Developer version of the G1 is designed to give developers complete flexibility,” Google said in a statement. “These phones give developers of handset software full permissions to all aspects of the device… We aren’t distributing copy protected applications to these phones in order to minimize unauthorized copy of the applications.”
The Android Market has DRM? What’s the point of having a free software operating system on an un-crippled phone if your downloads have DRM on them?