Amazon's Android App Store Sucks

When I first heard about Amazon's app store back in March 2011 when it opened, I was enthusiastic. This was what Android was all about and something that differentiated it from Apple. An open operating system, an open market of devices from different makers, open to multiple app stores. Let there be many app stores, each trying different ideas, specializing in different areas. Also, Amazon's FAOTD (free app of the day) was a great idea - not only to generate interest in the store, but give people a reason to revisit over time.

It was good for a while, but then it started going downhill. Let me count the ways... most annoying first.

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING

I started noticing that apps I got from Amazon's app store wouldn't run unless my tablet had an internet connection. Practically speaking, this is a mere annoyance on phones, since they're usually connected. But with WiFi only tablets - which most Android tablets are - it makes the app virtually unusable. Yet the bottom line is the same: you never know when you won't be able to use the app you paid for, simply because you don't have a network connection. Even if the app itself doesn't use network - which made this maddening! Then, adding insult to injury, I discovered that the same apps from Google Play worked just fine while disconnected from network. Furthermore, when I uninstalled the Amazon app from my device, the apps I had gotten from Amazon's app store stopped working. So not only do you need a network connection even for apps that don't use network, the apps also check in with the Amazon store itself.

This was clearly specific to Amazon's app store. It was adding telemetry, license checks, something that made the apps unusable without network and Amazon's app installed. Here was Amazon's heavy-handed DRM based approach to the eBook market: you, the customer, don't really own what you purchase from us. We'll decide when, where, how, on what device and on how many devices you can use it. Now applied to mobile apps.

FREE CRAP OF THE DAY

FAOTD was a great idea doomed by poor implementation. For the first few months, perhaps the first year, it had a few great apps. Over time, the quality of the FAOTD dropped, and - far worse and too often - the app was obvious malware trolling for victims. Why would Amazon let these apps in their store at all, let alone highlight them as FAOTD? At best, it was incompetence. At worst, careless disregard for their customers.

LAST YEAR'S MODEL

Too many of the apps in Amazon's store are old out-of-date versions. Developers write for Google Play first, then only later port to Amazon's app store, if at all. Yet it costs the same! At least when you buy a car, getting last year's model saves you a bunch of money. Not with Amazon's app store.

FLYING BLIND

When apps are updated, Amazon's store doesn't tell you much about it. I could never find info about version, date released, or "what's new" release notes, all of which Google Play provides. So in deciding whether to apply the update, one is flying blind.

HOW TO FIX IT

How can Amazon fix this? Should be clear from the above, but here are my suggestions - this is what it would take to get me to revisit their app store:

  • Turn off the tracking. It degrades the user experience and there is no reason for the app store itself to do this. After installing an app, the app store should step aside. There should be no requirement for network just to run an app (unless the app itself needs it) and no telemetry.
  • Fix FAOTD Get higher quality apps - the last thing we need is yet another flashlight app. If you can't get higher quality apps, then FAOTD is just a gimmick - shut it down. And vet the apps better so it's not propagating malware.
  • More App Info For each app and update, show the version number, date released and developer's release notes. Better yet, show the history of versions and dates and let the user pick which version to install. Sometimes a new version has bugs on some devices and it's helpful to let users revert to an older version until the bugs are fixed. This would be a feature Google's market doesn't have, something to differentiate Amazon's store.