• GigaOm, Friday, December 10, 2010 2:57 PM

Irked at Android and its sub-par payment system, Rovio is launching its own in-app purchase, carrier-billing payment system with the help of Finnish carrier Elisa. With what will be called a Bad Piggy Bank, players of Rovio's hugely popular Angry Birds will be able to upgrade to an ad-free version of the game or buy its first virtual good -- the Mighty Eagle character -- with one tap. With 50 million downloads and counting (on iOS, Android, webOS and Symbian), the loss of Angry Birds' business represents a setback for Google's mobile operating system, notes GigaOm.

Rovio CEO Peter Vesterbacka, however, said he was fed up with Android's payment system, which prompted Rovio to offer Angry Birds for free with ads on Android. "Everyone would agree the payment and purchase experience (on Android) has been less than excellent," Vesterbacka said a press event, according to GigaOm. "We're trying to make that a lot better ... "We're about choice. It's always better to offer consumers choice." Angry Birds users are now playing 200 million minutes a day, while Rovio is planning to bring the game to game to the PC, Mac, video game consoles and Facebook.

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