AT&T restricting Aria to AT&T market apps only?

[blinky]

I've read in a few places about AT&T restricting where you can download Android apps if you buy their version of the Aria phone. Not having an Aria myself, I don't fully understand this. Can someone help me figure this out?

Am I correct here in that if you own an AT&T Aria, then you can only download apps from the "AT&T market" and nowhere else?

 

[BookLover]

At&t restricts all their Android phones to the Market.

You need to install the sideloading apk from xda developers to load apps from other sources.

I know it exists but haven't needed to use it myself. I'm happy with the Market apps for now.

 

[blinky]

At&t restricts all their Android phones to their Market.

You need to install the sideloading apk from xda developers to load apps from other sources.

I know it exists but haven't needed to use it myself. I'm happy with the Market apps for now.

So, if you want am app from the Android market (not AT&T) or even if you want an app from the developer's own market, how does the process work? Do you just download the app to your computer, and then with the sideloading app just sync the app to your phone via a USB cable? Does the sideloading app reside on your computer or the phone itself?

 

[mrdoc]

See here..

 

[tylerdurdin]

You can download from the android market.

 

[blinky]

Sorry, I am a little confused here. Is there a difference between the AT&T market and the Android market? Maybe I have the terminology wrong. I haven't even seen anywhere on AT&T's website that indicates that AT&T even has their own AT&T market (i.e, AT&T online store for Android apps).

 

[Bob in Northern NJ]

I bought my AT&T Aria about 3 weeks ago, my very first experience into the world of smart phones. It is Not True! When you buy the AT&T Aria with the AT&T version of Android 2.1, with all those useless AT&T apps, you ABSOLUTELY CAN download apps from the Android Market Place! There is an extra tab in the Market Place that says "AT&T Market". You are NOT restricted to ONLY AT&T Market, or AT&T apps!

Why this becomes a problem is because the internal memory of the Aria is limited compared to other smart phones. Only 500 meg or so. With the AT&T version of Android 2.1 with all of their pre installed apps, there is only about 108 Meg available for you, the user to download apps from the Android Market.

It is this situation that led me to learn about rooting, and ROM flashing. If you go down this path, be advised that you are voiding your phone's warranty with AT&T.
First, learn how to root your phone. Then, install one of the Android 2.2 apps. Once you reboot your phone, you can start to download any apps that you want, (even non-market apps which need to be side loaded). You will be able to njoy the full potential of your phone, which includes installing your downloaded apps on your SD card, something AT&T stock 2.1, (or any version of 2.1 for that matter), doesn't permit.

My experience is that once the Aria is rooted and most apps are defaulted to the SD card, the phone is very fast, with fantastic features. It packs a LOT of power into a small package!

Hope this helps!

 

[Droidized]

So, if you want am app from the Android market (not AT&T) or even if you want an app from the developer's own market, how does the process work? Do you just download the app to your computer, and then with the sideloading app just sync the app to your phone via a USB cable? Does the sideloading app reside on your computer or the phone itself?

- The Aria uses the standard Android Market

- Sideloading Wonder Machine runs on your PC and using your sync cable, installs apps (.apk files) without restrictions. It doesn't require any modifications to your Aria, just follow the instructions and you can install programs that might not be available to you on the Market such as Angry Birds.

 

[mmiller2002]

On a related note, I installed Astro manager so that i could backup apps to my sd card. The first time I tried to re-install a backed-up app from my sd card, the phone prevented me. "For security, your phone is set to block installation of applications not sourced in Android Market."

So, basically, Astro app backup is not useful for ATT phones.

PS, I don't want to root the phone, I just want it to work without messing with it like an appliance should .

 

[strose09]

Root your phone and you'll have no problems backing up non market apps.

 

[dexmix]

The confusion is that even though we get our apps from _the_ android market - AT&T further filters those results!

One example of apps they filter out is tethering apps.

To get around this you have a few options.
A) Remove your sim card and use the market via wifi OR
b) Use airplane mode and market via wifi OR
c) User a market fixer app to spoof your sim card to T-Mobile

 

[jerkyboy]

My experience is that once the Aria is rooted and most apps are defaulted to the SD card, the phone is very fast, with fantastic features. It packs a LOT of power into a small package!

How much faster is web browsing?