Amazon Appstore

The Amazon Appstore for Android is an app store for the Android operating system operated by Amazon.com. It is the package app store for Amazon's Fire OS operating system. It was opened on March 22, 2011 and was made available in nearly 200 countries.[2] Developers are paid 70% of the list price of the app or in-app purchase.[3]

Amazon Appstore for Android
Amazon Appstore for Android
Developer(s)Amazon.com
Initial releaseMarch 22, 2011
Stable release
release-32.52.1.0.204529.0_800923810 / 10 March 2020 (2020-03-10)[1]
Operating systemAndroid
Fire OS
BlackBerry 10
TypeSoftware update, digital distribution
LicenseProprietary
Websitewww.amazon.com/gp/mas/get/android/

On September 28, 2011, Amazon launched the Kindle Fire tablet.[4][5] The tablet, designed for media consumption in the Amazon ecosystem, relies solely on the Amazon Appstore for its marketplace, eschewing Google Play. Alongside the tablet was a new design for the Amazon Appstore, intended to better integrate with the tablet's user interface.

On June 18, 2014, BlackBerry announced an official relationship with Amazon, which includes access to the Amazon Appstore in BlackBerry 10.3.[6]

Features

Until 2015, the Amazon Appstore included a "Free App of the Day" feature.[7] Every day, an application, frequently a game, was offered for free. On the launch day, this game was Angry Birds Rio (Ad-Free), in itself a promotional game.[8] On The European launch day, the free app was Angry Birds (Ad-Free). The Free App of the Day feature made an exception to Amazon's payments, instead giving the developer none of the list price during the featured day.[9] This program was replaced with Amazon Underground Actually Free, which itself ended in 2019.[10]

The store's "Test Drive" feature allowed users to try an application in their web browser by launching a virtual copy of Android in the Amazon EC2 cloud for half an hour.[11] The Test Drive service was decommissioned in 2015, Amazon saying that the service had been in decline, partly due to many apps not supporting the feature, and the increasing prevalence of the "free-to-play" business model making it obsolete.[12]

In May 2013, Amazon introduced Amazon Coins as a form of payment for purchasing apps, games, and in-app purchases from the store.[13]

Android applications

As of October 9, 2019, the Amazon Appstore features 487,083 applications available for download.[14]

Only a few of the most popular apps available on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store are also available on the Amazon Appstore. For example, the Facebook company offers Facebook, Facebook Lite, Instagram, Messenger and Messenger Kids in all stores. However, the company does not offer IGTV separately from Instagram on the Amazon Appstore, nor does it offer WhatsApp, Messenger Lite, Boomerang or Layout.

History of app growth

When the Amazon Appstore for Android launched in March 2011, it had about 3,800 apps. It reached 80,000 apps in June 2013 and 240,000 apps in June 2014.[15] In June 2015, the app store had nearly 334,000 apps.[16]

Reception

Shortly after the Amazon Appstore launch, the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) published an open letter expressing concerns that were primarily aimed at Amazon's distribution terms.[17][18][19] The main concerns about the conditions were that Appstore terms force developers to permanently lower their AppStore prices if ever they do promotions on other stores, and that Amazon could choose to lower the price of an application while deciding to reduce the developer's share without having to ask permission. Following this address, Amazon clarified the Appstore developer agreement,[20] but this did not assuage the IGDA's concerns, which declared that "Amazon's terms represent a threat to game developers".[21][22]

In July 2011, the Swedish developer Bithack pulled its Apparatus application from the Appstore and published an open letter explaining that the store was a "disaster" for indie developers.[23] The main problems related to the very slow review process, the absence of any means to filter unsupported devices, and that Amazon changed the price of the application without consulting the developer,[24] leading to the IGDA reiterating its warnings concerning Amazon's policy once again.[25]

Accusation of trademark infringement by Apple
See also: Apple Inc. litigation § Amazon "App Store"

Apple filed a lawsuit against Amazon for using a similar name to the Apple App Store.[26] Amazon claimed that the term was too generic to be trademarked, and asked the judge to dismiss the suit.[27] Apple responded to Amazon's attempted dismissal of the lawsuit by claiming that Amazon was tarnishing the trademark by using the name.[28] A federal judge denied Apple's request for a preliminary injunction, disagreeing with Amazon's claim that the term is generic, and citing that Apple had not established "a likelihood of confusion" with Amazon's services to obtain an injunction.[29] Apple changed its complaint after Amazon started advertising the Kindle Fire, now saying that Amazon is trying to confuse customers further by dropping the "for Android" part of "Amazon Appstore for Android." In the amended complaint, Apple wrote that "Amazon's use is also likely to lessen the goodwill associated with Apple's App Store service and Apple products designed to utilize Apple's App Store service by associating Apple's App Store service with the inferior qualities of Amazon's service."[30]

In January 2013, Apple's claims were rejected by a US District judge, who argued that the company presented no evidence that Amazon had "[attempted] to mimic Apple's site or advertising", or communicated that its service "possesses the characteristics and qualities that the public has come to expect from the Apple APP STORE and/or Apple products."[31] In July 2013, Apple dropped the case.[32]

See also

References
  1. "Install Amazon Appstore". Amazon. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  2. Amazon.com (2013-05-23). "Developers Can Now Distribute Apps in Nearly 200 Countries Worldwide on Amazon - Amazon Mobile App Distribution Blog". Developer.amazon.com. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  3. "Amazon Appstore | Android". SigitArinto.com. 2011-03-22. Archived from the original on 2011-08-27. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
  4. Ned Potter via Good Morning America (2011-09-28). "Amazon Tablet: Kindle Fire Announced by Jeff Bezos to Beat Apple iPad for $199, Relative Bargain - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
  5. Pepitone, Julianne. "Amazon unveils $199 Kindle Fire tablet and $79 e-ink Kindle". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  6. "BlackBerry will bring thousands of apps from Amazon's store to its phones". The Verge. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  7. "Amazon Ditches Its Free App Of The Day In Favor of Amazon Underground, With '$10,000 Worth of Apps And Games That Are Actually Free'". Androidpolice.com. 2015-08-26. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  8. "New Amazon Android App Store - 1 Free App / Day - Baltimore Sun". Articles.baltimoresun.com. 2011-03-22. Archived from the original on 12 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
  9. "Amazon Appstore, Not so Amazing". GigaOM. 2011-07-05. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  10. "Amazon is shutting down its 'Underground Actually Free' program that gives away free Android apps". Techcrunch.com. 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  11. Jason Kincaid (2011-03-22). "Amazon's Android App Store Launches: Test Drive Apps Directly From Your Browser". Techcrunch.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
  12. Perez, Sarah. "Amazon Shuts Down TestDrive." TechCrunch. TechCrunch, 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 20 July 2015. Amazon Shuts Down TestDrive
  13. Flood, Alison (2013-05-14). "Amazon launches Coins virtual currency". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  14. "Amazon Appstore: number of available apps by quarter 2018 | Statistic". Statista. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  15. Amazon Appstore triples selection to 240,000 apps Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine June 2014.
  16. Amazon App Store for Android. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  17. "Important Advisory about Amazon's Appstore Distribution Terms". International Game Developers Association. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-14. We are not aware of any other retailer having a formal policy of paying a supplier just 20% of the supplier's minimum list price without the supplier's permission.(...)If you ever conduct even a temporary price promotion in another market, you must permanently lower your list price in Amazon's market
  18. "IGDA warns Android game developers about Amazon's Appstore terms". guardian.co.uk. 2011-04-14. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  19. "IGDA Outlines 'Significant Concerns' Over Amazon Appstore Terms". Gamasutra. 2011-04-14. Archived from the original on 10 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  20. "Clarification about Amazon Appstore Developer Agreement". Amazon.com, Inc. 2011-04-15. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  21. "Amazon's clarification fails to address game developer concerns". International Game Developers Association. 2011-04-19. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  22. "Tir de barrage contre Amazon". Canard PC. 2011-04-14. Archived from the original on 2011-05-18. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  23. "Apparatus will be pulled from Amazon Appstore". bithack.se. 2011-07-04. Archived from the original on 2011-07-05. Retrieved 2011-07-15. If you are a small indie development team, or possibly even alone, don't bother with Amazon Appstore. Create a great app, publish it on Android Market, and provide great customer support. You will never succeed on Amazon Appstore without a big wallet, or at least an established reputation so that Amazon puts value behind their promises.
  24. "Game developer pulls app from Amazon Appstore over problems". The Inquirer. 2011-07-05. Retrieved 2011-07-15. The final problem was that Amazon changed the price without consulting the developer. The price was cut to $0.99, only a quarter of its original price, which, while perhaps good for players, is not good for the developer.
  25. "IGDA still unhappy with Amazon Appstore policies". Joystiq. 2011-07-08. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
  26. Eaton, Kit (March 22, 2011). "Apple sues Amazon over 'app store' name". CNN Tech. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  27. Cheng, Jacqui (April 26, 2011). "Amazon responds to Apple: "app store" is generic, toss the suit". Ars Technica. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  28. "Apple claims Amazon Appstore 'tarnishes' App Store trademark". Electronista. June 10, 2011. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  29. Levine, Dan (July 6, 2011). "Judge rejects Apple bid for injunction against Amazon". Reuters. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  30. Cheng, Jacqui (November 18, 2011). "Kindle Fire Dragged Into Apple's 'App Store' Suit Against Amazon". Ars Technica. Wired. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  31. "No app for that: Apple's false ad suit over Amazon Appstore thrown out". Ars Technica. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  32. Bostic, Kevin (2013-07-09). "Apple drops 'App Store' lawsuit against Amazon, says no need to pursue case". Appleinsider.com. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
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