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Amazon Building Its Own Android App Market?
Thinkcloud writes "Speculation abounds that Amazon is planning their own storefront for selling Android apps, one in which they, not the developers, will set the price and decide which apps to feature (and which apps to exclude from the store all together). It's a shrewd move and smart strategy for Amazon, though its impact on app sellers is less certain."
Just what Android needs, more fragmentation.
The Amazon store brings some walled garden stuff, but my fear is that cell phone makers and providers will end up locking phones only to Amazon's store. Of course, they can be rooted so one could use the Google App Store.
In any case, this isn't a boon for developers, mainly because they now have at least two places they must keep their apps updated in.
I hope this comes to fruition, so nice of Amazon to prove us Apple fanboys right.
John Gruber's going to have a field day with this.
Google has everything to lose with this move by Amazon. Android's ecosystem is going to get murkier and weirder.
Do you suppose Amazon's going to put the in-phone app available via the Android Marketplace?
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
I like this idea if they can implement it well. I always find reviews on Amazon useful when purchasing other products. This could be a helpful tool for finding some really good applications. It all depends on the implementation and if they can convince good developers to see their apps there.
The issue here is not just that Amazon might want its own app store, a reasonable desire. The issue is that the current Android market really sucks. Google does not have good expertise in the curation methods that an appstore needs; right now, you have two options browsing the appstore: you can look at top, all-time sales. Games that have been out for two years top these charts, not surprisingly.
Or, you can look at the raw feed of 'newest'. In games, that would be 64 underwear puzzle games, three things in Japanese, and a tech demo of rotating lines, controlled by some sensor or other.
Google's traditional approach to this sort of problem is search, but search does not work well here, and there's significant market opportunity. Hence, Amazon.
Doesn't make sense.. They have no phone, no tablet/pad/handheld device. Their ebook reader doesn't even run android. If anything, Barnes and Noble would be a better match to merge an ebook/app store within for some apps.. but amazon? Thats just fragmentation for fragmentation sake
I don't think it's fragmentation but this nugget:
one in which they, not the developers, will set the price and decide which apps to feature
is a deal killer. No way would anyone I know work on an app and not be able to set the price. That's basically Amazon telling the developer what his/her time is worth.
Trolling is a art,
Except, what developer would willingly agree to hand over his product to this kind of a store?
Is having an app that's featured in a walled garden store where other people have control over your app a desirable thing nowadays?
In other words : are there programmers who would like to take in the ass from amazon?
Yeah, Android will be fucked. I mean the ability to buy apps from a variety of sources completely and utterly destroyed the PC and Mac ecosystems. If only they'd been able to limit PCs and Macs to single stores to buy apps from, then nowadays we wouldn't be using the internet and having to work on...
Oh wait, nevermind.
BTW, I had no idea who John Gruber is, so I had to Google him. For anyone else wondering, apparently he's a blogger from Philadelphia, who graduated from Drexel University, and worked for Bare Bones software. Big names there, obviously a person that matters in the technology world.
Yes, because when more stores open up in your town, it's not economic growth and development, it's "fragmentation."
The funniest part of this comment is that Amazon is only going to be likely to gain much relevance for their own app store in their dreams. They're going to have reach, of course, but a job of convincing developers to accept their terms and come into their marketplace when they are already in _the_ marketplace used by tens of millions (soon to be hundreds of millions) of Android users. They will have to spend big to get out of the zone of irrelevancy. It sounds like a miscalculation born of arrogance to me.
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is this where I will be able to buy the 200 fart apps?
That's why there are also rumors that a amazon is going to launch an android tablet at the same time:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/27/amazon-android-tablet/
I not your uneducated consumer; I know a thing or two about the Android platform, yet it's still murky as hell to me with all the different flavors of UI by different manufacturers that don't all look or smell the same!
It's no different than all the various linux distributions available; sure they're all Linux under the hood and can be customized to your liking, but many have different UIs and different ways of doing things which scares your typical consumer away, preventing it from gaining any significant market share.
I wonder if this Amazon App Store application will behave like the Amazon MP3 store application that came pre-installed on my phone; constantly starts on its own and consumes resources for no apparent reason even though I never use it, has full network permissions, can read my phone state and identity, can modify my SD card contents, and has access to my system tools (change Wi-Fi state, prevent phone from sleeping), and worst of all can't be uninstalled (Thank You, Sprint and HTC!).
I live in a country where Android phones are either hideously overpriced ($600 for a Galaxy S? Tigger please.) or bundled with a service plan offering more voice minutes in a month than I'll use in a year. So I'm in the market for an Android PDA or Android PMP like those made by Archos, not another phone with another phone bill. An Apple fan might describe it as "Android pod touch". But I'm not aware of one Android device without a cellular radio that Google has officially approved for use with its store. So developers who don't feel like competing with established apps on Google's store can target Android devices that lack 3G and sell on AppsLib and this Amazon store in addition to Google's store.
(disclaimer - I currently don't own an Android device, and don't have access to the store, so this may already exist)
... is a community-centric app evaluation system, so that rogue apps can be flagged up and possibly pulled from the store. We keep hearing about how Android apps are apparently harvesting data and shipping it off to some website or another. Or accessing people's phonebooks.
(yes, yes - I know that people are warned about these things, but a lot of end users are dumb and blinding press "YES" when they see a dialog box)
So, what would help is for members of the community to report malicious apps, and allow installing users to see before hand that it has been reported as misbehaving.
Of course, this won't help people who install APKs directly off the net, but then you only have yourself to blame. Example: BFTSSQuiz 0.65.apkDON'T INSTALL THIS APP - IT'S PRE-ALPHA! I wonder how many people'll download it, anyway...
THE HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS - CC Licensed Sci-Fi Novel
Do you suppose Amazon's going to put the in-phone app available via the Android Marketplace?
Amazon doesn't need to unless it is specifically targeting the Backflip and other Android phones sold by AT&T, which hide the "Unknown sources" checkbox that enables APK installation.
PC and Mac apps worked on any PC and Mac as long as the hardware met the requirements. Dell/HP didn't do too much customization of the OS except for including drivers and wallpaper/BIOS for branding
with android the manufacturer first makes a deal with a carrier and then customizes the OS for that phone based on the carrier's wishes. AT&T is already locking their android phones out of some app stores. i bet in the future we'll see android phones won't run apps just because it's from a store the carrier doesn't approve of
I assume we'll have the same shrill cries on here of "WALLED GARDEN!! RESTRICTIONS ARE BAD!! WHAR FREEDOM AMAZON WHE!!" and Amazon will be added to The Official List Of Evil Companies That Hate Software And Freedom And Puppies.
Or is it only bad when Apple does it?
Google has really had their goggles (or blinders) on about the whole app market.
While they've managed to create a lot of market momentum behind what is fundamentally a hardware platform, they have been unable to tie that to their software based platform.
Is this because of their 'open' stance? Perhaps, but that's only going to be able to be discerned over time.
As hardware has become 'commodotized', so has software, and so too will the 'great' web services like google.
It's only a matter of time.
So does Anonymous Coward have good karma?
I'm asking because their terms aren't likely to attract too many top-end developers. Seriously, would you want Amazon to set prices for your product, and tack in DRM?
That last bit is uglier than the rest - even if you're a big fan of DRM, the fact that Amazon can literally modify your binaries at will (read: potentially break something) is enough by itself to drive off any developer with more than two working neurons.
Now if Amazon drops those two parts, they'd stand half a chance, IMHO.
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
Is Amazon building it's own Android phone?
i bet in the future we'll see android phones won't run apps just because it's from a store the carrier doesn't approve of
So your argument, essentially, is that maybe someday we might see an example of a single vendor (out of many) doing what Apple does to every single device it sells?
Even if they ALL did it, you'd still only be at the level of 'same' rather than 'worse'.
I'm hoping they will offer Amazon products and media.
I'm not really interested in buying Android apps from them but I'll happily buy their books, music, movies, and other merchandise. And when I do I don't want some other company taking a cut or interfering in the process.
And though I doubt that I would be buying apps from them rather then the Google Market, I wouldn't rule it out.
Have U ever seen the Android Marketplace? It consists of 2 tabs ("Apps" & "Games") and a searchbox. Then you click a button and the app installs. Also, what app does iPhone have that Android doesn't? I dare you to name one.
Back in the days of DOS before Win95 took over the PC world, when the PC market was growing, while what you say was largely true as written, you have to remember that there was a lot less abstraction of hardware, and that the diversity (in the PC world) of hardware was at least as significant as the diversity of customized Android OS software and hardware combined (and, that there were quite a few versions of MS/PC-DOS, and toward the end of the period a few clones, floating around simultaneously as OS software), and yet the PC software market did quite well (and, once the Mac was around, better than the market for Mac software despite the latters more uniform target platform.)
If the store has apps that people want, there will be a pressure for the carriers not to lock it out, or their phones sales will suffer.
Dilbert RSS feed
What, like the App selection for the /iP.*?/ is any better?
I bought an iPod Touch earlier this year, and ended up returning it because I could barely get it to do anything useful (there was a subnet calculator app I kind of liked, but it wasn't worth paying $300 for something to replace a pen and a bar napkin) that even my piece of crap Palm Pro phone couldn't. Even after jailbreaking, it didn't seem like there was much to it except shovelware games that reminded me of early DS and Wii games (using touch/waggle in new and obnoxious ways) and marketing apps. An app to directly link to a shitty big-chain pizza corp with watery sauce and cardboard crust? Sign me up!
Amazon is already a major e-retailer, so they have some advantage there. I think the real question is whether they'll add value to the user/customer's app-selection process. yes, Amazon already has some you-may-also-like, and user reviews, but can Google do a better job of mining such data to produce value? Amazon doesn't seem to take this as seriously as Netflicks, for instance. can Google obtain some advantage from, for instance, crash reporting? perhaps they're in a better position to profile, for instance, how an app treats your personal data...
As long as security is better than on the Marketplace (almost impossible not to be) I'm all for it. I'd rather not use Marketplace ever again.
I love this model because if Amazon wants to offer something more appealing for creators and consumers, they'll sell more "stuff" and people will be happier. And if this is popular more merchants will set up something similar.
This is a good thing. Everybody getting more choices, everybody will make more money.
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
"I can't believe anyone modded you as insightful." - by jedidiah (1196) on Friday October 01, @10:52AM (#33758960) Homepage
You're right to NOT believe it, because he may have "modded himself up", via alternate registered user accounts he/she has is all, & yes, it is VERY EASY to do.
Sound unreal? Guess again!
Fact is, others who are "in the know" online, & about this kind of thing in fact, have spoken of it before here as well (besides myself)!
Folks like Mr. Bruce Perens, & in this quote of his here for you to read & be aware of:
http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1738364&cid=33089192
PERTINTENT QUOTE/EXCERPT:
"It just takes one Ubuntu sympathizer or PR flack to minus-moderate any comment. Unfortunately, once PR agencies and so on started paying people to moderate online communities, and to have hundreds of accounts each, things changed."
AND
http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1738364&cid=33092398
"I have been offered the online-perception-management services I'm talking about while managing at HP and Sourcelabs. If you are not aware of companys concern for their online perception and what they do about it, and won't take my word for it, there isn't much point in arguing about it with you"
---
Yes, they changed alright: So much so, that "concerned parties" began keeping "flocks of their on-the-payroll faithful" around on largely travelled forums (like this one) to up mod that which is in their favor, and to downmod that which is NOT in their favor. There are even FIRMS that do that FOR THEM, for hire... pitiful! Like they're fooling anyone with any common-sense (not).
APK
P.S.=> So Jedediah? As was said to Neo in the film "The Matrix"?? "Welcome... to the REAL world!", & don't mind the smell kiddo - that's just the neo-con/neo-cheater wannabe-clever scumbags that infest this place and all others that think they are "clever" using multiple reg'd accounts here & elsewhere to pull their utter b.s. online...
Pitiful is what it is, and others ask me WHY I don't keep a "registered luser" account here? See above - says MOST of all that needs saying about that much! apk
They will have to spend big to get out of the zone of irrelevancy. It sounds like a miscalculation born of arrogance to me.
A few posts have made the point that Amazon is better at presenting relevant content than Google when it comes to showing a catalog of things you are likely to buy.
Another reason that I think Amazon will succeed in this venture is that they have a large customer base that trusts them. A study was done that found that Amazon.com is the most trusted brand in U.S.A.
Here is a link to a blog discussing it: "Study: Amazon.com is most trusted brand in U.S." http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-10457727-62.html
Note: Some brands that did well in other countries were Nokia, Toyota, Colgate, Pampers. Microsoft was #1 most trusted in the Czeck Republic.
Amazon has been at war with book publishers over who sets book prices. With Amazon's policy of a $9.99 e-Book price for a new title, publishers face erosion of their print book prices and volumes.
So...will app developers be their next target of price control?
Does it have iTunes ;)
I don't know. Are they? You tell us...
How about we post the news article if they announce one? I really hate these speculative 'question' posts.
New Android phone to have six buttons?
Display manufacturers to use synthetic sapphire glass?
Tommy Lee Jones to star in new motion picture?
Why can't submissions provide actual sources? In this particular case, we got a link to a blog - which linked to another blog - which linked to a techcrunch article - which linked to another techcrunch article - which linked to a dev mailing list. Would it have been so hard to provide the direct link to at least the techcrunch article which provided far more details than the random blog analysis of the same?
What does iPhone have that Android doesn't? A good selection of decent games.
And what happens if Amazons store requires that the app be exclusive to its store? Is there any reason why a given provider could not require that users of its phones stick to one market or another? Either or both of those would mean fragmentation!
A lot of techies just don’t seem to realize that we are in fact a minority. If switching proves to be more profitable, then a lot of Devs will switch, despite any philosophical objections. Then there is your average user who will be more than willing to give up a little freedom just to get the peace of mind that a controlled market where the apps are actually fairly safe would bring.
There have been a lot of complaints about the current market and frankly it’s a turnoff. There is a real chance Google could have its market actually superseded in relevance by one from Amazon. If they don’t want to see that happen, Google had best do something soon about cleaning things up.
You'll find that $600 is more or less what a smart phone costs.
An iPod touch 4 costs 229 USD. Do the cellular radio, camera, microphone, and GPS really cost $370?
"It consists of 2 tabs ("Apps" & "Games") and a searchbox."
That's exactly what makes it terrible.
Looks like anti-apple moderators are on loose. You guys are just jealous about apple's success. Suckers.
Google is an awesome company but they have really bungled the social aspect with quite a few of their services (probably because they fear to assume the big-brother role that Facebook and Amazon don't mind adopting -- being seen as all-powerful would impact their image heavily)... look at YouTube - just a little bit of curation or moderation of comments would make it a much more sticky and keep folks within the youtube. People desperately want to interact, despite the absolutely inept moderation capabilities, there exist a few gems in the comments.
Google should either be scared or delighted... if Amazon can execute similar to their web and Kindle efforts, they will quickly dominate the AndroidMarket market.
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
Comment removed based on user account deletion
What you are describing is a very important process that is not likely to go away. However, the average joe doesn't necessarily want to tinker with his phone. You know, he just wants it to work. A second (or third?) store, that some carriers will lock in, others lock out, others will propose exclusively isn't necessarily something from which Android will benefit.
Write boring code, not shiny code!
If the store has apps that people want, there will be a pressure for the carriers not to lock it out, or their phones sales will suffer.
Well, carriers preload their phones with huge loads of crap from the dawn of times. Users don't like it, but they keep doing it. Go figure.
Write boring code, not shiny code!
I would love to use and develop for a touch screen Kindle running an app-enabled version of android. Most current apps wouldn't run well (or at all) on the battery-sipping processor and low refresh rate screen, but it could be very well suited for more static apps targeting that hardware. You just can't beat the screen and battery life on that device, and apps could help Amazon continue to expand the platform.
I'm not aware of one Android device without a cellular radio that Google has officially approved for use with its store.
The Creative Zii Egg
I didn't see any mention of Android Market on the page you cited. As I understand the ordering page, one must order on behalf of a company that will be branding the Zii EGG as its own product. Or do I misunderstand it? Does it have any substantial advantage over Archos 43?
I seem to remember discussion about a big problem with the Android Market being that each app seller had to work out the international tax issues for each country they were selling to. If so, that's a huge problem and maybe Amazon has an opening if they take care of all those messy details like Apple does.
But what of this "List Price" system in the terms? The formula in the leak makes no sense to me, but it looks like Amazon's aim is to prevent developers pricing their apps lower at competing app stores.
If I could charge what I like when selling my app elsewhere, I wouldn't care what margin Amazon takes. But if they sell the app for $10, and I get $7 back from them, I may want to sell the app for $8 on my own website, so my return is about the same no matter where it is bought. There would be no cross-subsidisation. But I wouldn't be happy if a condition of Amazon listing forced me to sell it for at least $10 outside Amazon.
This is speculation, because, as I said, the way the List Price mechanism is described in the leak makes no sense to me. Anyone understand it?
You won't be buying my apps there as I am not prepared to accept the terms of the Amazon developers agreement. You can use any of the other 5 shops where you can get my apps from.