14 DAY TRIAL // Amazon has finally gone live with its application store, a potential competitor for Apple's iTunes. Amazon AppStore features nearly 3,800 apps at launch, but the company says its portfolio will grow over the coming months.
However, it seems that Apple has decided to sue Amazon, claiming trademark infringement and unfair competition over the name. “We’ve asked Amazon not to copy the App Store name because it will confuse and mislead customers,” an Apple spokesperson said. However, it seems that Amazon has ignored Apple's appeals.
Amazon has been trying to attract developers since the beginning of the year to convince them to publish their apps through its own AppStore. Successful or not, users will have access to a catalog of 3,800 applications at launch.
Big names in the mobile applications development industry have enlisted their software within Amazon's store, including Glu Mobile, Handmark and Gameloft.
“The developer response has been really strong,” said Aaron Rubenson, category leader for Amazon Mobile Services. “We’ll be launching with a broad range of paid and free and the customers will find lots of best-selling titles from Doodle Jump to Call of Duty to Zagat and Tweetcaster. The list goes on and it’s just day one. We are adding more every single day.”
Furthermore, the store has gone live today and offers users Rovio's new Angry Birds hit game based on the movie Rio for free. The game is available exclusively from Amazon AppStore and will be offered for free for 24 hours, after which it will be retailed for $0.99.
The company also stated that it would offer one free application each day to help with the promotion of the store.
In addition, Amazon will offer a feature called Test Drive, which will allow a customer to try an app out before they buy it.
The technology is based on Amazon’s cloud services, as users will be able to open and use the app from within their computer browser. The simulation will only last for 30 minutes.
