The Amazon AppStore for Android is where you can download a paid Android app for free each and every day!
- Size: 104KB
- Category: Tools
- Price: Free
The AppStore for Android is Amazon’s rendition of Google’s Online Android Market and gives you the power to browse the entire market from Amazon.com or the Android app itself.
Note: this app requires your device be running Android 1.6+. Also, at this time, AT&T customers cannot us this app because of AT&T’s restrictions on 3rd party app installations (although they are currently working on a solution).
One of the novel features that the Amazon AppStore has brought to the table is the ability to “test drive” an application before purchasing it. Clicking the “test drive now” button launches a copy of the app on Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), an Amazon Web Service available to developers. The simulated app runs just as it would on your Android device. Now you don’t have to worry about the Android Market’s 15-minute return policy if you’re afraid you won’t actually like a paid app. This will surely promote paid applications, especially since many go unnoticed because of the “chicken or the egg” dilemma (they don’t get paid for and downloaded because they don’t have ratings, yet they don’t have ratings because they don’t get paid for and downloaded).
The interface, navigation, and overall experience of the app is nothing less than what you would expect from Amazon. If you’re an Amazon user, make sure to enable 1-click purchasing to make the process that much smoother.
Pros:
- Download a paid Android app for free every day
- “Test drive” applications before purchasing them (online AppStore only)
- Attractive, streamlined interface facilitates app discovery
Areas for improvement:
- Align categories with what’s used in the official Android Market
Conclusion: The efficiency and power of Amazon applied to Android apps creates an exciting complement to the current Android Market.
