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> Google needs to get its act together with the Play Store

How is this Google's fault? I would guess that the pirated copies are all side-loaded from somewhere other than the Google Play Store. Software piracy happens. DRM solutions can mitigate some piracy (certainly not all, and likely won't increase sales, either).

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The article suggested that the high piracy rate may be because Google Play is only available in 31 countries, and with only credit and debit card payment options.

No hard numbers were provided to back that up, but presumably supporting more countries and payment options could only help sales. So, Google could support more countries and payment options.

Alternately, they could add more sophisticated DRM to android phones.

There are plenty of app stores besides Google's. In fact, anyone can setup an Android app store, or sell their own apps through the web using any payment processor they want. You can even have a "send me cash in envelope, and I'll send you a telegram with a link to the .apk / unlock code" option for the credit-card-less.

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