With the growing success of apps in the smartphone world, Amazon has decided to launch an Android store of its own, in an initial announcement made last January. Even before opening its Appstore this Tuesday, Amazon is already being sued by Apple for trademark infringement. Apple claims that the name Appstore used by Amazon is too similar and will lead to confusion with Apple’s own App Store. According to Amazon, the space between the two terms is enough to make the distinction.
The introduction of Amazon Appstore in the Android world is perhaps a good thing for Android fans. Amazon is a well established company trusted by million of users, who are used to buy throught the site, a trusted secure site. The lack of regulation in the Android Market and other Android stores due to the Android open platform concept, has led to instability and poor quality of developed apps. Malwares were sometimes present in these stores, and even Google’s own Android Market was hit by malwares earlier this year. Unlike Google, Amazon will review apps before selling them, non-working apps will be discarded. Apps that threatens the user will also be disregarded.
Amazon will market its apps differently than Google’s Android Market. It will market apps based on reviews and users recommendations. One of the most frustrating issue developers have is visibility in the Android Market. Amazon hopes that their recommandation algorithm will help developers get their apps shown to the appropriate users. This will be beneficial, at least at opening, since an estimated 4,000 apps will be available at first on Amazon, as opposed to the 150,000 – 300,000 different apps available in the Android Market. Users will also be able to try an app before buying it.
As part of their daily deal, Amazon will offer a free app every day; Angry Birds Rio will be their free app of the day at launchtime. Remunaration will be calculated differently on the Amazon store. Developers can suggest a price, but Amazon can readjust the price accordingly and even sell it for free as part of their daily deal. Developers will get paid the either 70% of the listed price or 20% of their asking price.
Developers will be charged an annual 99$ access fee to Amazon Appstore, althought Amazon waived this fee for the first year.
Amazon’s move to distributing Android apps is raising speculations about its intent to create a tablet or make a Kindle Android. For the moment, Amazon is not commenting on this, they did however state that they plan to sell apps for other platforms than Android.
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