Customers can download an app for the marketplace direct to their device and then use that purchase new apps via Amazon’s 1-Click payment option. Users can also buy apps directly from the Amazon website and have them sent to the handset or device.
The arrival of Amazon Appstore gives users of Google’s Android operating system a retail experience closer to Apple’s App Store for iPhone and iPad than Google’s bundled Marketplace which offers little pre-screening of apps.
A feature likely to prove popular is “Test Drive” which will enable customers to test apps on a simulated Android phone through their computer’s web browser.
“Test Drive lets customers truly experience an app before they commit to buying. It is a unique, new way to shop for apps,” says Paul Ryder, vice president of electronics for Amazon.com. ”
Our customers have told us that the sheer number of apps available can make it hard to find apps that are high quality and relevant to them. We’ve spent years developing innovative features that help customers discover relevant products. By applying these features – plus new ones like Test Drive – we’re aiming to give customers a refreshing app shopping experience.”
In a clear reference to a number of cases of Android apps available from Google’s Marketplace being found to host malware, Amazon says all apps “are Amazon-tested before they’re made available in the Amazon Appstore.”
The store boasts the first ad-free versions of Angry Birds and Angry Birds Seasons for the Android platform which will be available exclusively via Amazon. it lso features a selection of bestselling and new apps from top developers, including Pac-Man, Doodle Jump Deluxe, Evernote, WeatherBug Elite, Zagat to Go and TweetCaster Pro.
No launch day would be complete with a few woes and this is no exception, Amazon are facing a legal challenge from Apple over the service’s name which the iPad maker says is too similar to its own App Store trademark.
The store is available at www.amazon.com/appstore