Google to Add Web-Based In-App Purchases to Android in May

We all know that Google's been working on adding in-app purchases to Android, right? Well, if you didn't before, you do now. According to TechCrunch, these in-app purchases were supposed to be enabled in the fourth quarter of 2010, but they've been pushed back to the end of this quarter (meaning May, 2011). What you might not know is that, as part of this new feature, Google will be enabling you to make these in-app purchases via your browser.

Last year, Google bought a company called Jambool, which made a product called Social Gold, which Google is integrating into its own systems. Social Gold is still operational, but will be shut down in May, timed to coincide with the release of the new in-app system. Considering that Google's I/O conference starts on May 10, it seems natural that it will be unveiled then.

According to TechCrunch:

This announcement is regarding ‘web-based, in-app payments’ as indicated in the above blog post, and not Android Market, which is still set to get in-app payments support in Q1 2011.

This is an intriguing development, and in line with Google's insistence that you be able to do everything via the browser, including managing your phone, downloading apps, and augmenting them. I'm looking forward to seeing what the full featureset of this will be.

[Via TechCrunch]