Amazon has launched what it hopes will be the Android equivalent of Apple's App Store.
The company aims to improve the shopping experience offered by Google's Android Market, currently the go-to store for more than 200,000 Android apps. (For comparison, Amazon's new store has 3,800 applications, and Apple's App Store has more than 300,000.)
One of its most innovative features is "Test Drive," which allows users to test apps in a simulated Android phone on their desktops before committing to a purchase. Shoppers can also peruse personalized recommendations, customer reviews and set up one-click payment options, just as they can with any other Amazon's stores for ebooks and music.
As an incentive to visit the new Appstore, Amazon is offering users a free download of Angry Birds Rio, which debuted on Android Tuesday morning. Amazon plans to continue offering a different paid app for free every day.
Interested parties can access the Appstore at amazon.com/appstore, via the mobile browsers on their Android phones and tablets, and through the Amazon Appstore application. Purchases made in the Appstore can be used on a purchaser's entire range of Android devices.