More than 200,000 apps are available in the Google Android market, and you probably buy many android apps every now and then. It is highly probable that you have purchased one or more android apps which are not suitable for your mobile phone. BUT now that you have already purchased them, you can’t do much about it.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could try an android app before actually buying it?
In March 2011, Lance Whitney at CNET reported that Amazon’s Android Market offers a test drive option for android apps where you can just play around with an android app before buying it. However, this solution is not effective because you can do it only on your computer and this feature is only available within US.
Google’s Android market provides a better alternative. It gives you a 15-minute window for any android app you buy. This means that if you don’t like an app within 15 minutes of buying, you can return the app and get 100% refund instantly. If you do like it, you can keep the app installed on your mobile.
This is not a strictly try before you buy option as Amazon provides but it is much better way to test drive an android app before spending money on it.
Android market’s trial method is better because you can try the app on mobile, which means no matter where you are, you can test an app anytime. The feature is available all over the world and they refund 100% of the amount instantly.
The trial for paid apps is beneficial especially for those apps which are a bit on the expensive side. If you want to return the app on android market, just visit the My App Store on your handset, tap the app you want to return and click Refund.
Please note that you can try any app only once. If you want to try the same app again, you won’t get the refund option. Instead, you will have to pay the whole amount, which is non-refundable.
Also, you just have 15 minutes to try and get refund. So ideally, you should use 10 minutes to try the app and the remaining 5 minutes for getting refund. Even a second’s delay and the Refund option vanishes from the My App Store.