Amazon has created its own Android AppStore and has opened it to developers at https://developer.amazon.com. Amazon sells audio and video content, while Google’s existing Android App Market doesn’t support video sales. Amazon earlier also made significant investments in the Android brand.
The payment system in the Amazon-Android AppStore will likely remain within the Amazon ecosystem, though Amazon is likely to vet the apps differently compared to how Google does it. Google lets market forces decide which apps are good and which are not, whereas Amazon is likely to follow Apple’s model, and may take a whole week to approve an app.
While developers will be able to suggest a price for the apps, the final decision will rest with Amazon. The company could also offer discounts or make selected apps free. Seventy per cent of the revenue earned by selling apps will go to developers and Amazon will retain the rest. All submissions will first be validated before they are made available in the Amazon Android AppStore. To install apps, users will first need to have the Amazon AppStore app installed on their devices.
The Amazon Android AppStore is likely to go live later this year and its storefront will be designed for tablets. Developers who want their apps to appear on the store will have to make sure it works properly and actually does what it promises. Amazon is likely to be liberal with most apps but will crack down on porn and illegal applications.
Rumors about Amazon’s Android store started in October, and analysts latched on to one line from an invitation sent out by Amazon that said users would be able to install apps on tablets and other connected devices.
Amazon would like its name to be synonymous as much with apps as it is with e-books, which would add yet another revenue stream to the company coffers. Amazon’s Android AppStore is also likely to add a new level of credibility to Android apps as well.
Amazon also updated its Android Kindle app around the same time that it opened its AppStore to developers.