Amazon's assault on Android has been sustained but also stately.
Apart from one glorious day, the Amazon Appstore for Android is still only available for North America users.
Similarly, the multi-million selling $199 Android-powered Kindle Fire is only available to buy for customers with Amazon.com accounts and North American postal addresses.
Every little counts
But even Americans don't yet have the option of using micro transactions on the appstore yet.
Amazon has been running an invitation-only beta SDK program for developers for some time, but now we're hearing from sources that the company is expected to flick the switch sometime soon - we're expecting March.
Obviously, this will be a big boost for the mobile gaming ecosystem, which is quickly moving to an in-app purchase model, especially on Android.
Indeed, with Kindle Fire the most successful Android tablet by far, some publishers are already seeing strong activity on the device. For example, G5 Entertainment recently announced 1 million downloads, although it not clear how many of these were paid.
Enabling IAP will ensure companies can start monetising their free downloads.
Developers can sign up for the beta program here.
News
Contributing Editor
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.
Top Stories
News
7 hours, 5 minutes ago
Fortis team boosted by top ex-King, PopCap EA, Microsoft and Warner Bros. Games talent
News
8 hours, 56 minutes ago
UK skills crisis prompts call for games industry-led body to tackle key challenges
News
9 hours, 11 minutes ago
AI joins the team at King: "Our challenge is to create the right amount of challenge"
News
Apr 17th, 2024
Monopoly GO! celebrates its first birthday and shares its behind-the-scenes story
Feature
Apr 15th, 2024
46 top mobile games in soft launch: CSR 3, Plants vs. Zombies 3, LEGO Hill Climb Adventures, Candy Crush Blast, and more
Feature
Apr 15th, 2024
Hot Five: XCOM Legends’ rumoured shutdown, Squad Busters verges on soft launch, and Royal Match reaches $3 billion
Events
HIT Games Conference Istanbul 2024 | Apr 18th | |
Game Job Fair – Spring Edition 2024 | Nordic | Apr 18th |
Arts DAO Fest 2.0 | Middle East | Apr 20th |
App Promotion Summit London | Europe | Apr 25th |
Esports Future Summit | Middle East | Apr 27th |
Dubai GameExpo Summit 2024 | Middle East | May 1st |
The MENA Games Industry Awards 2024 | Middle East | May 2nd |
GameDev Atlantic 2024 | May 4th |