Amazon Now Allowing Developers To Create Freemium Apps

It was only revealed last week that Amazon was piloting in-app purchasing for the last month with the plan to give it a widespread release soon. Turns out that day came a lot sooner than expected as Amazon announced that it’s releasing the API for both Kindle Fire and Android devices today.

The In-App Purchasing API is now available to the developing community to integrate into their products, allowing them to offer content and subscriptions for purchase within their own apps. Each purchase will be completed under Amazon’s 1-click system and it’s hoped that such a system will be integrated into a number of apps including in-game currency, expansion packs, and magazine
subscriptions.

It’s expected that Amazon will charge a 30 per cent commission to clients for the service, the same rate that it charges developers for app sales. Including the feature in an app is optional for developers, although the growing popularity of the freemium business model could mean that more developers will be willing to incorporate it into their app in some form.

Considering the large uptake of Kindle Fires and the vast number of Android devices activated across the world, Amazon has a large base to work from and all it needs are developers to get on board so it can generate more revenue. Currently there’s roughly 31,000 apps in its store which is tiny in comparison to Android and Apple, but considering that the store is barely a year old, it shows that the platform is growing and could have a better chance of closing the gap than Windows Phone.

Also, it’s been revealed by Flurry recently that the Amazon App Store makes $0.89 for every $1 Apple makes in its iTunes App Store. in comparison Google Play makes $0.23, but this is because Google focuses more on advertising for generating revenue. Also,  it’s expected that in app purchases will generate up to $5.6 billion according to research by IHS.