alostpacket

Again, just FYI, it's the same with Google. You have to have the Market apk to run licensed/DRM'd apps from the Android Market.

This gives apps a way to not need permissions such a "full internet access" just to check DRM since the Market apk (or Amazon in this case) handles the DRM for them. (Although apps may often augment the DRM with internet access). It also reduces the amount of code require for each app to implement DRM.

I think it's OK to not like DRM, but having the market (or appstore) app installed is actually a pretty practical way to implement it. It's not perfect, but given the alternatives (1000 different kinds of DRM which would likey mean much larger apps taking more space on your phone) I think it's a decent solution from a tech standpoint.

The ethics of DRM in general are another discussion altogether though.

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