Amazon's Appstore for Android has emerged as a viable threat to Google's own Android Market, with app store analytics firm Distimo reporting that the total number of downloads generated by Amazon's top 100 apps increased 14-fold in December 2011 compared to just two months earlier. Distimo credits the growth to the launch of Amazon's Android-powered Kindle Fire tablet as well as holiday season demand.
Among applications available in both stores, 110 Android apps generated at least $200 each day in one of the stores during the last week of January 2012, Distimo reports. Forty-two of these apps raked in more revenue via Amazon Appstore than Android Market; Distimo adds that of the total income these 110 applications generated in both stores, 28 percent came from Amazon.
Although 50 percent of all Amazon Appstore for Android apps are now available in Android Market , Android Market continues to offer about 14 times the number of apps as Amazon. Distimo notes that Amazon is narrowing the gap, with the number of new Android Market apps launched in December and January only five times greater than the number of new apps entering Amazon Appstore.
Distimo adds that while the ratio of paid Amazon Appstore apps remains steady at around 65 percent, Android Market's share of paid apps continues to decline, sliding from 38 percent to 32 percent over the last seven months. The average price of the top 100 paid apps in Amazon Appstore is 40 percent lower than in Android Market, however--Amazon is responsible for setting Appstore prices, and regularly offers popular Android apps at a discount.
Amazon Appstore for Android opened in March 2011. The storefront promises a user experience rooted in the company's e-commerce and marketing expertise, highlighted by a series of automated marketing features extending its signature product recommendation engine to mobile software merchandising, as well as a Bestsellers section to further improve consumer discovery. Unlike Android Market, Amazon Appstore for Android tests all apps before introducing them in the store, guaranteeing a positive user experience and protecting consumers from potentially harmful situations.
