Hasta La Gadget!

Apple has never been particularly hesitant when it comes to sending in the lawyers. The company is already in the midst of a high profile legal battle with Microsoft over the latter company’s use of the term “App Store” (“The vastly predominant usage of the expression ‘app store’ in trade press is as a reference to Apple’s extraordinarily well-known APP STORE mark and the services rendered by Apple thereunder,” et al.). So when Amazon opted to launch its “Appstore” (no space) it was sort of playing with fire (or, perhaps, exploding iPods). 

In spite of Apple’s grumbling, Amazon’s proceeding full steam ahead with the rollout of its Appstore for Android. The switch has just been flipped and early adopters will be welcomed with a free copy of Angry Birds Rio, whose Android launch Amazon scooped all to itself. Beyond day one, Rio will be a $0.99 app, but others will take its place as the online retailer is aiming to serve one usually-paid app for free each day. A total of around 3,800 applications are available at launch and you’ll be able to get on board via either a dedicated Appstore app on Android (sideload link available below) or Amazon’s web interface. The latter offers you a 30-minute Test Drive facility, where you can try out a program you might fancy for your phone before purchasing. Service looks to be US-only for now — sorry, international users.

Update: The web Appstore has gone down. Don’t panic, we’re sure it’s just teething troubles and not a smiting by the Cupertino ninja collective. In the mean time, the app still looks to be working okay.

Continue reading Amazon Appstore for Android goes live, welcomes newcomers with free Angry Birds Rio

Amazon Appstore for Android goes live, welcomes newcomers with free Angry Birds Rio originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 03:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A screen shot of part of the page you would see when visiting amazon.com/apps before it was taken down. Photo: androidnews.de

Retail giant Amazon is preparing to launch its own app store on the Android platform on Tuesday, March 22, a trusted source told Wired.com.

First leaked in September, Amazon’s Android app store will be a curated market, meaning Amazon reviewers will determine which apps are allowed inside, similar to Apple’s iTunes App Store. That’s a contrast to Google’s “anything goes” policy for apps that appear in the Android Marketplace.

Amazon has been less than discreet with its imminent app store. Earlier this week, an Android fan discovered that a webpage for the Amazon app store —http://www.amazon.com/apps — went live prematurely, revealing a horizontal sliding menu of about 48 apps and their prices.

Customers will be able to purchase apps through the Amazon.com website or directly through a native Amazon app on their Android devices, said our tipster, who is involved in the launch. Our source asked to remain anonymous due to a non-disclosure agreement.

For apps that have links to purchase and download other apps, those links must go through the Amazon market. They may not contain URLs to apps on the Android market, our source added.

An Amazon app store is possible on Android because, unlike Apple, Google allows third parties to set up their own software shops on the Android platform. Some critics point out that an Amazon app store in addition to an official Android app market may create confusion on the platform.

However, it’s worth noting that Amazon payment systems are deployed in more countries than Google Checkout, so an Amazon app store may pose serious competition to the Android Marketplace, and possibly even iTunes.

TechCrunch has speculated that the Amazon app store may precede an Amazon-made tablet powered by the Android OS, enabling Amazon to more directly compete with Apple and other tablet manufacturers.

Multiple reports claim that Amazon will focus on lower prices for apps to gain a competitive edge. Indeed, tech blog Android News looked through the 48 apps on the leaked webpage and found that prices of a few apps undercut the prices for the same respective apps listed on Google’s Marketplace.

See Also:

• Amazon Android App Store Apps and Prices Get Early Reveal
• Amazon to Launch Android App Store
• Everything We Know So Far About Amazon’s Android App Store …

At about $200 on-contract, Dell’s Streak 7 is one of the cheaper ways to get yourself into an Android tablet — or at least into one made by a manufacturer you’ve actually heard of before. But, that “on-contract” bit means of course the 3G-equipped handheld will be considerably more expensive in the long-run — or $450 up-front if you skip the contract. Here’s one that isn’t. Early this AM we got word that a Wi-Fi only version of the tablet had been certified and, now, here it is up on Amazon for pre-order. No release date is available but the price is: $379.99. That’s about $70 less than the 3G model and $20 less than the 3G-free Galaxy Tab is expected to retail for. Is that cheap enough to make up for its flaws? That, dear reader, is a question you must answer for yourself.

Dell Streak 7 gets certified in Wi-Fi-only form, shows up on Amazon for pre-order originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 07:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Streak Smart, AndroidOS.in  |  Wi-Fi Alliance, Amazon  | Email this | Comments

A screen shot of part of the page you would see when visiting amazon.com/apps before it was taken down. Photo: androidnews.de

Android fans shouldn’t have to wait too much longer for Amazon’s anticipated Android App Store.

A sneaky Android fan typed http://www.amazon.com/apps into his address bar and discovered a horizontal sliding menu of 48 apps and their prices.

Popular titles and tools such as EasyTether, Wolfram Alpha, Zenonia, SetCPU, and The Moron Test appear to be among the app store’s premier lineup.

The link above has since been removed; it now redirects to Amazon’s homepage. Before its removal, you could view the apps as long as you were logged out of your Amazon account. If you were logged in, Recent History recommendations would replace the app suggestions.

Amazon’s Android App Store, which was announced back in September, will be an alternative to Google’s own App Store, and is reported to be curated more like Apple’s App Store: Amazon will select what goes in, rather than Google’s “anything goes” policy. Also unlike Apple, Google allows multiple app stores on its Android operating system.

The screenshots support the claim that Amazon’s Android apps will be competitively priced with Google’s app store. Most apps are priced identically across both markets, a few are slightly cheaper, and a handful are more expensive. A full listing of the apps and their prices are available at the source link.

Although a firm release date hasn’t been set, the service is expected to launch “very soon” and will exclusively feature the Angry Birds Rio game.

Amazon Appstore: Apps and Prices Leak [androidnews.de]