Rovio chooses indie app store over official Android Market.
Rovio has announced that the full Android version of its Angry Birds game will make its debut on GetJar today - as a free download.
The game has been a smash hit on iPhone and iPad as a paid title, and was recently launched as a cut-down Lite version on Android Market.
However, with the full game now ready to go, Rovio has opted for GetJar over Google's official store as the initial distribution channel for the proper Android version.
"Selecting GetJar as the place to launch our first ever full Android version of Angry Birds was an obvious choice," says Rovio's Peter Vesterbacka.
"GetJar's global reach and popularity as well as their unique App It! download service ensures that we reach a massive audience of fanatically loyal Angry Birds addicts."
Rovio will be using GetJar's App It! tool to cross-promote the Symbian and Android versions of the games from one page on the GetJar store.
So, if this is the full version of the game, and it's free, how is Rovio making money? GetJar tells ME that for now, Angry Birds for Android will be supported by ads from Google/AdMob.
Meanwhile, Rovio CEO Mikael Hed tells ME that in-app purchases will be added to the Android version "at a later date".
To clarify: the game on GetJar is the full version not a demo, despite the original wording on the webpage.
Update: Demand for the game appears to have crashed GetJar's site, with its download page currently displaying the message: 'GetJar is experiencing a temporary problem. Please try again in a few minutes."
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