Amazon launches their Android Appstore today. Notice that I didn’t say “Amazon App Store” with a space and capital S. Not sure if this is some way to get around the fact that Apple is suing them over the name “App Store” or if Amazon just thought it was cuter this way.
Before I tell you how to access the App Store, there are a few things you should know. Amazon’s pay structure allows them to offer most paid apps at a discount compared to the official Google Android Market. Also, Amazon is giving away a paid app for free on the daily. This should keep Android users coming back on the regular. Today’s free paid app is Angry Birds Rio, which would normally cost you a whopping 99 cents, but Amazon is giving it away.
To browse the Amazon Android Appstore (not App Store), you can hit the first link in this sentence. The web interface uses some fancy Flash magic to let you play with the apps in the browser before you install them.
You can also download the Amazon Android Appstore App directly to your device by scanning the QR Code to the left or visiting http://amzn.to/getamazonappstore from your Android device. Be sure to enable installation of apps from Unknown Sources in Settings->Applications. Check out the full installation instructions, including video.
Installing apps from the web interface is almost as smooth as from the Android Market web interface. If you’re logged into Amazon on the web and in the Android App, you will see a list of apps you’ve chosen to install in My Apps on your device. It will be interesting to see what effect this has on the Android App ecosystem.
via TechCrunch, Engadget