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Right now, they have an app with which you can view Steam profiles and text chat. I'm excited for the eventual Steam Apk Store and Steam Games for Android.

BHSPitMonkey 14y ago
Don't forget the app's main purpose (buying games).
zanny 14y ago
I'm pretty sure Google will ban it. They don't allow competing app stores (same reason Amazon basically forked the entire stack for their Kindle devices). Maybe Valve will distribute Steam Android devices, but that seems silly. If Valve wants to get mobile, they need to hope for the success of Ubuntu Phone / Plasma Active / Tizen. Even Ubuntu Phone is probably going to block in the Canonical app store competing markets.
- nekgrim 14y ago
  You can download Amazon AppStore on your Android phone, but you can't find it on Google Play, you have to download the apk from Amazon website.
  - zanny 14y ago
    By stack I mean app store stack. If Valve releases Steam for Android you will have to manually get it from them because Google will never allow it.
    - nekgrim 14y ago
      Yes, but I don't see a difference between this and Steam on PC. An appstore is just an easy way to download apps. Steam can make a special homepage on Steam PC + a badge + a free valve game for every gamer using the app, and the google interdiction will just be nothing.
      - zanny 14y ago
        It is expectations and habits. On Android devices, people expect to get applications from Play / Amazon stores rather than manually downloading and installing an apk. I expect that a supermajority of Android users by a huge margin would not even understand the concept of "download and install an application package" even though they do it every day on Windows. They see Android, they go to the app store for programs.
- lucian1900 14y ago
  I have the amazon store installed, and I used to have another one as well. Google doesn't ban anything, just doesn't put it on Google Play.
  - stephengillie 14y ago
    Google cant ban apps. They do not have the ability. Sure, they can prevent it from going on their market, but nothing is stopping you from downloading an apk from anywhere (or making your own) and installing it.

BHSPitMonkey 14y ago

Don't forget the app's main purpose (buying games).

zanny 14y ago

I'm pretty sure Google will ban it. They don't allow competing app stores (same reason Amazon basically forked the entire stack for their Kindle devices). Maybe Valve will distribute Steam Android devices, but that seems silly. If Valve wants to get mobile, they need to hope for the success of Ubuntu Phone / Plasma Active / Tizen. Even Ubuntu Phone is probably going to block in the Canonical app store competing markets.

nekgrim 14y ago
You can download Amazon AppStore on your Android phone, but you can't find it on Google Play, you have to download the apk from Amazon website.
- zanny 14y ago
  By stack I mean app store stack. If Valve releases Steam for Android you will have to manually get it from them because Google will never allow it.
  - nekgrim 14y ago
    Yes, but I don't see a difference between this and Steam on PC. An appstore is just an easy way to download apps. Steam can make a special homepage on Steam PC + a badge + a free valve game for every gamer using the app, and the google interdiction will just be nothing.
    - zanny 14y ago
      It is expectations and habits. On Android devices, people expect to get applications from Play / Amazon stores rather than manually downloading and installing an apk. I expect that a supermajority of Android users by a huge margin would not even understand the concept of "download and install an application package" even though they do it every day on Windows. They see Android, they go to the app store for programs.
lucian1900 14y ago
I have the amazon store installed, and I used to have another one as well. Google doesn't ban anything, just doesn't put it on Google Play.
- stephengillie 14y ago
  Google cant ban apps. They do not have the ability. Sure, they can prevent it from going on their market, but nothing is stopping you from downloading an apk from anywhere (or making your own) and installing it.