Doug’s already written about an early rumor that Amazon might be launching its own App Store and tablet device, but now comes signs that the first part of the rumored plan could be true.
Androidnews.de reported that an amazon.com/apps URL was live in the last 24 hours but has since been shut down. Screen caps from the purported development site show a list of titles that include a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Force Recon app, Newsweek Mobile and EasyTether. Interestingly, there’s no sign of Angry Birds Rio. It’s slated to be an exclusive to the Amazon App Store, meaning that the only way that Android device owners will be able to get Roxio’s movie tie-in will be through Amazon’s portal.
In Doug’s earlier post, he mentioned the obvious advantages that developers would have in making their content available through Amazon’s portal, namely the reach and already significant user base. Now, today’s leak shows off what consumers would have to gain in getting their apps through a hub other than Android Market. In typical Amazon fashion, the App Store seems as if it would undercut the prices of some content that’s already available through Google’s hub. So, Flight Frenzy Deluxe, Meteor Brick Breaker and Scan2PDF Mobile 2.0 all come in cheaper, with the latter being $2.50 less.
Keep in mind that all of this is pre-launch and that things may change once Amazon sees fit to actually launch the App Store. According to the official developer blog, that’s happening “very soon.”