Amazon has finally launched its Appstore across Europe, bringing its marketplace for Android apps to regions in the EU5 - the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
Sporting different names in different regions - Amazon Appstore for Android the moniker in the UK Amazon claims the store has been tailored to each region, offering localised content for consumers in each country.
The feature-set
Customers currently have to visit a dedicated Amazon URL from an Android handset in order to download and install the store, changing the device's settings so as to allow the installation of apps from sources other than Google Play.
Much like the US Appstore, the European stores also supports 1-Click payments, in-app purchasing and subscriptions, as well as Amazon's recently introduced GameCircle services such as leaderboards and achievements.
Furthermore, the Appstore is designed to place a greater emphasis on discovery than some of its rivals, highlighting a 'Free App of the Day' every 24 hours, and offering personalised recommendations to customers.
Accolades and praise
"Amazon has spent years developing innovative features that help customers find and discover the products that are right for them and have applied that know-how to the Amazon Appstore," explained Amazon Appstore VP Jim Adkins.
"We're delighted to extend that experience to our European customers."
Amazon's announcement was accompanied by a number of glowing appraisals from well-known mobile developers.
Rovio's Peter Vesterbacka praised the Free App of the Day program, for instance, while Glu CEO Niccolo de Masi talked up Amazon's monetisation options.
"We are big fans of Amazon Appstore and have seen tremendous growth in our business since we started releasing our apps on the Amazon platform," added TinyCo CEO Suli Ali.
"We have been extremely successful with Amazon's in-app purchasing. It was easy to implement, and we have generated significantly more revenue per customer than with any other platform."
With the Kindle Fire nearing its first birthday, this European Appstore rollout is likely to fuel further speculation that Amazon is planning a US and European launch for a Kindle Fire successor, which online sources have claimed will launch in Q3 2012.
[source: Amazon]
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