Droid X: The Missing Manual

Downloading from the Web

You’re not limited to getting apps from the Android Market—you can download them from the Web as well. You can either visit the app developer’s website to download the app, or instead head to one of the many web libraries that house and rate hundreds or thousands of apps.

Note

Be aware that when you install apps from the Web, they don’t go through the same kind of vetting procedure that they do in the Android Market. So be careful about what you download. It’s a good idea to download apps only from well-known developers or well-known, trusted download libraries.

Downloading from the Web takes a bit more work than from the Android Market. It’s a several-step process, rather than being straightforward and all-in-one as from the Android Market:

1. Go to a website using your Droid X and search for an app, or go directly to a developer’s site.

2. Download a file to your Droid X’s built-in SD card.

3. Install the app using the downloaded file.

Note

You can also download the file to your PC or Mac and then transfer it to your Droid X. For details about transferring files between computers and your Droid X, see Connecting Your Droid X to Your Computer.

Unless you know a specific app you want to download and the URL of the developer’s website, your best place to start is one of the many Android download libraries. The Android Freeware site—www.freewarelovers.com/android—is one good place, as is the Android download library run by PC World. To get to the PC World Android library, go ...