Android News
Amazon’s own Android app store now confirmed
October 8, 2010 | by Lars Aronsson
Android, Android OS
A few weeks ago a rumor started that Amazon.com was going to build its own Android app store, just like Verizon, and that rumor has now been confirmed to be true via a document Amazon sent out to potential developers. It’s still unclear what the new Android exclusive application store will be called and when it will arrive, but Engadget suggests that Amazon will have its new digital endeavor ready for the holiday season.
Amazon — America’s largest online retailer, will apparently require software to be run through a “App Packaging Tool” before it can be submitted to the store. According to Amazon, it will “ensure that the apps will install properly on customers’ devices and… enable the digital rights management (DRM) policies outlined in the developer agreement.” DRM is optional, and developers may freely decide whether to enable it or not. Developers can also submit demo videos that will be displayed next to their apps – a welcome feature that the Android Market currently does not have.
Amazon won’t allow “offensive content” to be published in its store, and the company will have final say on the matter, thus leaving the door open for some iOS App Store censorship. What do you think about yet another app market for Android? Is it a nice addition that will benefit the Android ecosystem, or are multiple app stores just one more way of fragmenting the platform?
Via [Engadget]
Agree with StoneDog about choice, I kept away from the Apple stuff because it is too heavily locked down. One of the main attraction of Android is choice. People who talk of fragmentation are looking at Android from the Apple world where limitation is seen as the answer to a difficult problems. The new app stores popping up are just alternatives to the official market, a newbie need not worry about the 3rd party stores unless they want to. It's like buying a new car and you can either go back to the official dealers for servicing and parts or you are free to go to a 3rd party supplier IF the owner is comfortable with it, the official channels will always be there.
As a developer I've been quite loud on the issue of Android fragmentation. There are many factors that contribute to the platform fragmentation. Multiple markets is _not_ one of them. It does take some additional time and effort to upload your app and the marketing collateral to an app store. The application code stays the same though, thus the same core binary can be distributed to many stores. There's another drawback of being on many app stores aside from the distribution overhead. Android Market is pretty good at making sure that an app only shows up on the phones capable of running it while other app stores may or may not do a good job at that. As a result the app might be used on devices it was not designed for, and you know what happens next… This last point is the main reason why I generally shy away from third-party app stores as a distribution channel. Somehow I feel like this one is going to be different, especially if the Amazon tablet rumors prove to be true. Being _the_ largest online retailer, Amazon has a good idea on how to merchandise the goods. As it stands now, Android Market fails to provide promotional support to anything but a handful of applications. I have high hopes that Amazon app store will end up being a high quality exposure channel for Android applications. Borys Burnayev actioncomplete.com GTD for Android and Web My recent post AC for Android 65 Hits the Market- Sync Reminders Get Dismissed Automagically
Yet another app store might seem like fragmentation – at first blush – but with the disorganization that has plagued Google’s App store from the very beginning, this is a real opportunity for Amazon to get it right. Users and reviewers have been clamoring for over a year for the Google App store to be redone so it can be more user-friendly, to no avail. Maybe Amazon can do a better job…BTW, a Verizon App store is a non-starter. I think their apps will be over-priced and under-useful. Just a matter of time before the Verizon store is required on all their phones and, of course, there will be no way to uninstall it!
It's just like rpmfusion or other repositories on desktop distros. Thinking of it that way, since these apks are really just rpms (sorry I'm fedora centric) Maybe calling them repos instead of app stores takes the "offensive" nature away. And fragmentation leads to incorporation and eventually better products as the software not good enough to stand on its own gets adsorbed by larger projects.