There are many alternatives to the official Android apps distribution ( aka Google Play formerly Android market ). I didn’t bother to publish on the less known app stores.

Users themselves find apps via the official way. But what if a big market cannot access Google Play. That’s the case in China where it’s censored . One way to distribute in China is to use a local App Store. One of them Ndoo contacted me.

I shipped one version CompassRay back in November 2011, they did the translation. I signed an agreement as “License to Use and Distribution”.

Visit NDoo

In April 2012, I visited Shanghai for a week. Since I know the city and I studied nearby at Fudan. So why not say hi to them. They were nice to welcome me at their offices in Northen suburds of Shanghai.

Ndoo  is addressed to developers. Nduoa ( N多网 ) is targeted at the Chinese market. The language is Chinese only.

They have 2 floors and about 100 people staff for the Shanghai office.

No longer true / Google Play is accessible in China

I could access all Google services ( gmail, search, maps, reader ) except Google Play and Youtube  on April 16 2012. But on April 17-18 2012, I can access it. It seems the Chinese government is blocking Google Play from time to time. Thanks to great firewall = China internet censorship . It’s frustrating , I asked many Chinese and they don’t even know why. From now Google Play is not blocked. Friends living in Shanghai confirmed they can download from Google Play

Anecdote

Since Google closed  their office in China, the operations are now done in Hong Kong . Here is what I found on April 20 at around midnight. Google search redirected to google.co.hk/xampp . They use an xampp stack .