Where do iPhone users get their apps?  iTunes app store.  Where do Apple users that don’t want to buy from iTunes app store get their apps? Nowhere!  And this is where Android lives up to its open sharing claim.  Not only is Android available on more devices than I can even want to name right now,  now if you don’t want to buy directly from the market you have a choice.

I got the email today telling me that the long rumoured Amazon App Store was officially open for business.  So I pulled into a Starbucks (can’t browse apps and drive) and quickly dialled up the Amazon website on my Captivate.  There it was all shiny and new.  At first glance it just looked like a website version of the Android Market with Amazon emblazoned on everything but its much more.  It truly is an appealing alternative to Market.  Some of the pricing is slightly different, overall comparable but still different none the less.  The first thing you notice is a special edition of Angry Birds for the new animated film RIO.  Take that iPhone users with your no Rio Branded Angry Birds. And to boot its free for a limited time to new users of the app store.  Its smooth informative has much more app detail than the little market on you phone.  If only for researching apps its good stuff.  Plus there is a little link on the side where they send a market link to download the Amazon App store on your phone.

Overall I found this much smoother than the Market more detailed and informative.  Even the rating system is better instead of an app showing a number of stars it has a small chart showing what rating the app received and how many people rated each level.  So one person might give it 5 stars and three people give it 2 stars so it shows a 4 star rating.  Not so on Amazon you see that 1 person rated it a 5 but that the majority rated the app low.  This is a definite plus.  So check it out you just may like it better.