Google announced late yesterday that it has launched Android Market In-app Billing, allowing users to make users purchases from within Android apps.
Android Market In-app Billing is an Android Market service that provides checkout processing for in-app purchases. To use the service, your application sends a billing request for a specific in-app product. The service then handles all of the checkout details for the transaction, including requesting and validating the form of payment and processing the financial transaction. When the checkout process is complete, the service sends your application the purchase details, such as the order number, the order date and time, and the price paid. At no point does your application have to handle any financial transactions; that role is provided by Android Market’s in-app billing service.
A number of apps supporting in-app purchases have already been launched. These include Tap Tap Revenge by Disney Mobile, Comics by ComiXology, and Dungeon Defenders: FW Deluxe by Trendy Entertainment.
In-app purchases are also offered by Apple’s App Store and RIM’s BlackBerry App World.