Amazon Instant Video Now Available On Android

briancox2 writes Amazon has avoided releasing the Amazon Instant Video app that is on Fire and Kindle to the general Android market, even though the app has been available for some time on iOS. Now, after a workaround had allowed some users to install the app on Android by fiddling with permissions, Amazon has released the app to many devices calling it "Amazon Instant Video for Google TV". It's not clear yet which devices can run this app. Currently it is not available for older Samsung Galaxy lines, however the Nexus, a major competitor of Amazon's devices, can run the new app.

Comments

Rather cumbersome

[mackil]

It's rather cumbersome, but it works. You can't install it straight from Google Play. You have to install the Amazon app and install it inside of that. They make you change the "unknown store" security setting in order to do it. Curious strategy on Amazon's part.

Now if only they would add ChromeCast support... I know, we customers are never happy.

Re:Rather cumbersome

[mackil]

I'm guessing that if Amazon had added it to Google Play Store, rentals would have had to use Google payments where Google gets 30% instead of Amazon. That or it'd work only with Prime, not rentals.

That is an excellent point. I hadn't thought of that. Like Microsoft's fight with Apple over their IOS Office app.

Due to Fire Phone Flop?

[WiiVault]

I'm willing to bet they felt forced to do this in part thanks to the colossal failure of the Fire Phone. If estimates are accurate they have sold slightly under 50,000 units since launch which is abysmal. I think had the phone been a hit they would have maintained their strategy of keeping it off non Kindle Android. As a tablet owner I'm really glad the phone flopped if this is indeed the case.