Android Service Defined in 2 Apps

I have a few android apps and I want to have them all use the same service. I don't want to just define the service in one manifest and have them all depend on that app; can I just define the same service w开发者_开发问答ith the same process name in every manifest, that way no matter which app gets installed first, the service gets started?

This is a similar question asked on the google forum a SO question that might relate. So I suppose you could

A. Embed the service in each application, if running use it, else start it, though versioning might be a problem

B. Get the user to install and apk with the service from the market place if not already present on device

I have probably not thought through all the issues, but it seems like B might be a better option from a version and maintenance perspective