Amadroid
On Monday, tech blog TechCrunch (which, incidentally, has just been acquired by AOL), reported that Amazon will not only be launching its own Android app store, but its own Android tablet too.
While TechCrunch is a pretty reliable site, we thought we'd wait until Amazon officially confirmed this news before reporting on it. Two days later and Amazon's press operations have yet to utter a syllable on the matter.
However fellow tech blog Slashgear reckons it has taken delivery of the distribution agreement for participating developers, which would appear to add further substance to the first rumour, especially since the Ts and Cs are consistent with the TechCrunch story.
Android is fast turning into the Windows of the mobile world - also defined by its opposition to Apple, both commercially and philosophically. Being ‘open' Android can potentially be used on any device - even any type of processor. In the white hot smartphone and tablet markets, it also gives OEMs an easy and cheap way of joining the party started, once more, by Apple.
As we covered earlier today, Android is increasingly viewed by developers as the better long-term bet. This isn't because it's intrinsically better than Apple's iOS, but because it's likely to be the default mobile OS for everyone else.
Of course companies like RIM, Nokia and HP will continue to invest in their own mobile OSs, and we're on the verge of seeing what Microsoft will bring to the table, but for everyone else it will be Android.
The reason this appeals to companies like Amazon and to developers alike is the install-base. Whichever platform has the most users offers the greatest potential return on investment from developing and app or service. Android is likely to have the biggest install-base for the foreseeable future, so that's where a lot of the development activity will go.
