Reports are suggesting that Amazon will be opening up its previously U.S-only (and Apple-troubling) Appstore here in the U.K and Europe, providing an additional resource for Android smartphone and tablet owners to grab some sweet software as well the chance to “test drive” a number of apps for a limited time before committing to buy them.
The Amazon Appstore arrived in the States in March 2011 and heralded the launch of the Kindle Fire – a multimedia-based tablet and an extension of the Amazon made eReader family of products which uses a modified version of the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS to display and play not only the standard ebooks but content such as MP3 audio, MP4 movies and GIF and JPEG images all in full colour on a 7” multi-touch screen. The Kindle Fire was released in September 2011 and billed as a rival to Apple’s iPad 2. But despite its cut price and respectable features it is yet to gain the mainstream coverage of the market leader, which might be the reason for Amazon’s expansion plans.
Like the Appstore, the Kindle Fire has been absent from the United Kingdom since it surfaced overseas. So with news that the tablet’s one-stop software shop is coming to visit us this of course raises speculation that the tablet – a more likely the Kindle Fire 2 – will soon follow. But will it have a place so late in the game? The tablet market is really warming up with Apple already delivering the 3rd coming of its iPad and Google preparing its Nexus slate believed to be announced later in the year.
Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.