Amazon’s Appstore for Android opens for business

Life

23 March 2011

Amazon has opened the Appstore for Android to users in the US. AT&T users, however, will have to wait a little longer to access the store.

Amazon is trying to lure users away from Google’s Market by offering a free paid app every day. The first such application is Angry Birds Rio, and is an exclusive for Android users via Amazon’s store. Users can also test applications with a feature called Test Drive, which runs applications on a simulated smartphone.

Amazon will also have an approval process for applications submitted to its store. The company will be testing apps to verify that they work as outlined in the product description and to make sure hat they don’t impair the functionality of the smartphone or put customer data at risk once installed.

In many ways Amazon’s Appstore for Android works in the same way as the rest of its store. Users can view app recommendations based on past purchases from Amazon and pay in the same way as if they were buying a book. Applications can be purchased from a computer, a smartphone or a tablet.