Google and Apple are taking different approaches toward pressure from Taiwanese officials to offer 7-day free trial offers of Android and iOS apps. Google has always offered some sort of free trial period for mobile apps, but the iTunes App Store has never had such a provision. In response to government requests though, it looks like Apple may start offering trial periods while Google is simply removing paid apps from the Android Market in Taiwan altogether.
While Google initially offered a 24 hour trial period, allowing users to click a refund button at any time to get their money back, the company switched to a 15 minute window earlier this year. Neither time period would meet Taiwan’s requirement, but you can see which direction Google was moving in.
Removing access to paid apps will help Google avoid a $1.5 million fine, since if there are no paid apps offered, Google doesn’t have to lengthen the trial period. But it leads to an odd situation where it looks like Apple will offer an iOS feature in Taiwan that’s not available anywhere else — while Google effectively removes a similar Android feature.
via Android Police
