Android Market’s new competition will get a big name game at its opening.
Rovio has distributed an incredible 30 million copies of ad-supported Angry Birds in the Android Market to date. But Rovio is turning to the Amazon (AMZN) Appstore for their new paid application, Amazon Rio. The decision is an interesting one and should also serve as a wake up call for Google’s Android Market.
There have been concerns among paid app vendors that Google (GOOG) doesn’t do enough to prevent piracy on its Android Market games. Most Android phones can “sideload” applications without the need to jailbreak. Therefore, pirated apps can be distributed as easy as pirated PC software. Additionally, Google has been charged with focusing too much on the advertising model for app revenues rather than a paid application model.
Perhaps that is where Amazon comes in. Amazon will be offering a more curated and locked down store model where it will even control pricing. It isn’t immediately obvious what protections Amazon will put in place.
“The Android platform has seen phenomenal growth, and it’s great that new avenues for app distribution are opening up,” said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio. “The openness of the Android platform works for the benefit of consumers and developers alike. It has been delightful to team up with Amazon to bring the Angry Birds franchise to this great new application marketplace.”
“Amazon is thrilled to work with a leading developer like Rovio in offering our customers Angry Birds Rio for Android exclusively in the Amazon Appstore,” said Aaron Rubenson, category leader for Amazon Appstore. “We think Angry Birds Rio is sure to be an instant customer favorite.”
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The Amazon Appstore is expected to launch in the coming month but today’s news seems to indicate that a launch could come much sooner.