Amazon"s elusive upcoming Appstore, set to be unleashed in the near future, will include an interesting feature that allows users to purchase Android apps from Amazon.com even if they don"t have a device. The move is designed to help customers buying an Android device get started by letting them stock up on apps at the same time. In their blog post, Amazon also point out that developers will have access to the advantages that come with any product being listed in their store.
Amazon"s product listings include a section that helps buyers decide whether to buy a product based on what customers that viewed the page ultimately ended up buying, linking together similar products. Amazon also has a "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" section, and in the context of apps this could help link together apps that work better in unity, such as a London Tube app and a London Bus app.
The unreleased Appstore has been met with its fair share of controversy, however. A previous report from AllThingsD revealed that Amazon intends to take control over how much apps will retail for, with the developer having a minor influence. Developers will earn either 20% of the list price or 70% of the sales price, whichever is greater. Amazon, having greater control over marketing strategies than most app stores, will be able to react faster to product trends and sales figures, leaving the developer with little to worry about.
It"s no secret that Google is dissatisfied with the sales figures of paid apps on its marketplace, and it might be Amazon that has the ability to turn this trend around. Amazon"s syncing system is well-known to Kindle owners everywhere, so an easy-to-use app store from a big brand could prove to be exactly what the Android platform needs to survive in the premium app market.