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Amazon Appstore for Android hands-on review: Android Market is in trouble
Earlier today Amazon released its long-awaited Appstore for Android. Fundamentally it's very similar to Google's first-party Android Market or the third-party AppBrain, but it has a few Amazonian differences that could set it apart from the competition very quickly.
First and foremost, Amazon is promising to give away one paid app for free every day. Today it's Angry Birds Rio, and it only retails for 99 cents, but that doesn't really matter: people love free stuff. People will download stuff simply because it's free, even if they don't want it! The best bit (or worst bit) is that developers still get 20% of the usual retail price, which will be paid out of Amazon's pockets.
The next defining feature is Amazon Appstore exclusives. Angry Birds Rio, CoD:MW:Force Recon and other apps will be available only from Amazon. As we know from the console wars, exclusive titles aren't always a good thing, but who cares? Amazon simply wants unique selling points, and exclusive titles are definitely that.
It's not all good, though. We ran in to some rather serious bugs while playing around with the Amazon Appstore for Android app, and then there's the matter of having to enable installation from Unknown Sources before it will even install...
Please note that the Amazon Appstore for Android is currently only available in the U.S. You can change your billing address to somewhere in the U.S., however, which lets you download free apps, including the free app of the day.
Installation
To begin with, you need to install the Amazon Appstore for Android app on your device. It isn't available from the Android Market, so you have to install it directly from an APK file, which requires you to enable installation from Unknown Sources (Settings > Applications > Unknown Sources).Fortunately, if you're not an Android pro, Amazon has a handy help page to walk you through the process. Watch the video while you're at it, too; it's hilariously awful (but instructional!)
Once you've installed the app on your Android device, load it up and enter your Amazon login details. You'll then be greeted with a rather pretty -- and not lime green! -- home page. As you can see (above), the Paid App For Free is displayed front and center.
App discovery
At the time of writing, Amazon's key 'recommendations for you' feature isn't available on the Android Appstore. For now, you have to make do with the same categories as Android Market -- Games, Utilities, Social Networking -- and the ability to sort apps by price, popularity, and age.The search function is OK. It offers suggestions, like the Amazon website and Android Market, but it reacts very slowly (even on Wi-Fi), and seems a little buggy. Typing 'ang' pops up 'Angry Birds', but 'angry' and 'an' do nothing.
On the plus side, the Amazon Appstore app does have a 'customers who viewed ultimately bought...' carousel on each and every app page. They don't look very accurate at the moment (apparently people opted to buy Bonsai Blast for $1.99 instead of Angry Birds Rio for free), but in the long run it should be as good as the Web version.
App details
Despite radically different layouts and the addition of Amazon-centric features like the carousel mentioned above, there's no fundamental difference between apps on the Amazon Appstore and Android Market.The only notable difference we could spot is that the Amazon Appstore doesn't tell you how many times an app has been downloaded -- and the download size is hidden behind the Product Description box. You can also share Appstore apps links, but only via SMS or email.
One interesting feature is the 'Saved for Later' list, which is basically a Wish List but for apps. For now it's just a private list, but presumably Amazon could enable public sharing in the future and allow people to buy you apps!
Buying apps
Like Android Market, you can buy Appstore apps from either on your Android device or from the comfort of your PC. Unlike AppBrain and Android Market, though, Appstore doesn't yet support push-to-phone installation -- instead, you get a notification on your Android screen, pointing you to My Apps to install it. Presumably push-to-phone will be rolled out eventually, though; this is just an initial release!A word of warning: be careful of Amazon's much-celebrated 1-Click purchasing. We accidentally bought no less than three apps while reviewing Amazon Appstore. If you click Buy App, it immediately purchases the app and begins the download. No amount of frantic pushing and swiping will prevent the transaction, much to our dismay...
Caveats
If it wasn't clear already, Amazon Appstore is completely separate from Android Market. It doesn't share ratings or download figures, and developers have to manually upload their apps to both markets.In fact, the markets are separate in every way but one: as far as your phone is concerned, an app is an app. It doesn't matter if an app comes from Amazon or Google: it will still have the same filesystem path, which in turn causes some rather annoying issues if you use both markets at the same time.
If you install an app from the Market, the Appstore doesn't recognize that it's on your phone -- but if you then buy the app on the Appstore, it recognizes the installed app and offers to update it. Even worse, Appstore apps aren't recognized by the Android Market, and it causes an error if you try to 'overwrite' your Appstore app.
So who's the winner?
The Appstore is an impressive first effort from Amazon. It was inspired by the Android Market, but the Appstore is very much an Amazon tool, laced with the same world-renowned paradigms that made the Amazon website so successful.
At the same time, there's no doubt that the Android Market, as it stands, is smoother than Amazon's offering. There are no refunds with the Amazon system, and the lack of push-to-phone installing is a nuisance. Let's not forget that this is Amazon's initial release, though, and it's a lot better than Google's first version of the Market.Ultimately, however, because of the two app stores' inherent incompatibilities, you will be forced to pick one or the other. Amazon, knowing full well that you have to choose, will reel you in with free apps and exclusive titles -- and then you'll be hooked.
Did we mention that the Amazon Appstore even has an in-app button to call customer service if you get stuck...?
Amazon could definitely have a winner on its hands.
[At the time of writing, Amazon's 'Test Drive' feature, where you can try out apps in a Flash applet for 30 minutes, seems to be disabled. We'll update this post after it re-appears.]
Comments
18
Subscribe to commentsNimbMar 22nd 2011 6:05PM
Did you get the app you accidently purchased refunded? If so what is amazon refund policy I can seem to find it anywhere.
Sebastian AnthonyMar 24th 2011 11:10AM
@Nimb There doesn't seem to be a refund policy, unfortunately :) You're meant to use the Test Drive feature, which gives you 30 minutes with the app for free, but it wasn't available at review time.
NeoprimalMar 22nd 2011 6:56PM
Initially I had problems getting Angry Birds Rio. What happened was I attempted getting it through the actual app store app on my phone initially, and that returned with a "purchase failed", and a pop-up asking me to enable one-click purchase every time, I tried it 3 or 4 times. This happened even though I have one-click purchase for mobile already enabled, which btw as a side note MUST be enabled to use the android app store at all.
So I took another approach and did it from Amazon.com. I signed into my Amazon account from my laptop, went into the AAAS (Amazon Android App Store) and purchased it there with 1-click purchase. It then shows up on my invoice as 0.00 and pops up in my AAAS app in my phone where I can download it.
I suspect that the purchase fails inside the app store on some phones because of how the 1-click purchase feature works...it's probably not as refined in the app as it is on Amazon.com yet.
I don't really think the Android Market is in trouble, I think they will go well together. Amazon also doesn't sell their app store apps outside of the U.S right now whereas this is possible from the android app store.
LuluMar 22nd 2011 11:56PM
@Neoprimal I really agree. It spices things up a little and gives Google Android market the motivation to make changes too.
It's a good thing for us consumers.
Sebastian AnthonyMar 24th 2011 11:11AM
@Neoprimal Wow, sounds like some weird issues! (But perhaps not unexpected from a new app like this.)
I don't really see how the two markets can work together. If Amazon took their apps FROM the Market, and then tacked exclusive apps on the top, that could work.
As it stands, I think people have to pick one or the other. (Once Amazon Appstore is available in their country, anyway :)
XanderMar 22nd 2011 10:20PM
Main problem is most people from AT&T can't get anything from the Amazon Appstore. AT&T removed the option to install apps from Unknown Sources. So they can't get Angry Birds Rio..
AnthonyMar 23rd 2011 2:44AM
People outside the US don't just need to change their billing address to somewhere in the U.S. they need to enter a US credit card. A US billing address with a non-US credit card won't work. Fortunately there are sites that can give you fake US credit card numbers (the numbers aren't real, but they meet the formula for what one looks like) that allow you to use free apps.
Until they're worldwide they shouldn't have exclusive apps.
Sebastian AnthonyMar 24th 2011 5:03PM
@Anthony Yeah, I guess developers have to realize that their exclusive apps will be US-exclusive too!
I presume Amazon will open up to more regions soon, tho'.
seaotterMar 23rd 2011 3:29AM
My only gripe - its US only
Brett LewisMar 23rd 2011 3:26AM
This is super inconvenient. My amazon account is a shared family account and we ALL have android phones... now what? ha
Sebastian AnthonyMar 24th 2011 5:02PM
@Brett Lewis You can bond multiple phones, I think! And select which phone to download to.
DepicusMar 23rd 2011 5:01AM
They also need to buck up their developer relations, my app has been in review for months and there is no way to load a new version till the old one is reviewed and no way to reject. Needs a lot of work to take on Google at this time.
vemoxyMar 23rd 2011 5:36AM
I have a HTC Magic with a custom Gingerbread build on it, and the Amazon App Store installer bricked my phone. How fantastic for a first impression.
Sebastian AnthonyMar 24th 2011 5:02PM
@vemoxy Doh :)
Don't play with custom ROMs...?
fakerootMar 24th 2011 2:18AM
It is available in the US only. Either Amazon thinks people outside the US or Andorid is popular only in the US.
Even if it is a Free App you have to be in the US?
Thats a big gripe...
RebeccaMar 27th 2011 6:06AM
The Amazon appstore was said to have only 3800 apps in store. This seems to be a small number, considering that you can find, using any files search engine like FindFile.net, http://www.findfiles.net , a few thousand free Android apps for downloading in the net.
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chrisarozApr 7th 2011 11:43PM
My main concern is that Amazon is asking non-techies to make their phones LESS secure. I know it's not likely to be a big issue right now, but that one little thing really irks me.