In a big step forward for web based HTML5 mobile applications, Amazon has just announced that they will allow developers to charge for HTML5 applications on the Amazon Appstore. This is certainly good news for any Sencha Touch developers out there! Previously Amazon did offer the ability to host web applications in the Appstore but developers were unable to charge for them. If you’re unfamiliar with the Amazon Appstore, take a look at the video below or click here to get started:
Using the Amazon Appstore you can publish your HTML5 application to compatible devices including the Kindle Fire and Android devices. Web applications that have previously been uploaded to the store can also be set to paid now. To help promote your applications, Amazon is running a ‘Free Apps of the Day’ promotion where your paid application will be set to free for the day to increase visibility and gain more users. Your application will also be posted on Amazon’s Facebook and Twitter accounts on the day. After the promotion is over, your application will continue to get exposure as it will be listed under the ‘Most Recent Free Apps of the Day’ category:
Also, this will make your application more likely to show up under the ‘Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought’ section. Basically, it’s a very good idea to get your application to be a free app of the day. In order for your application to be eligible to be a free app of the day, you should consider the following points (although they are not all strict requirements):
- Your app should offer something exclusive to the Amazon Appstore that customers can’t get anywhere else
- You should have a strong brand and strong portfolio of applications
- Your app must be less than 20MB and not require additional downloads after install
- The app must pass Amazon’s internal testing
If you want your application to be considered, make sure to submit it well in advance – the free app of the day queue could be backed up for weeks of months.
Although the Amazon Appstore may not be as impressive as Apples or Googles, this is still big news – it is possible to sell applications built with HTML5 on the Apple Appstore and Google Play, but they have to first be converted to a native application through some means like the Sencha Touch native packager or PhoneGap. With an industry leader like Amazon pushing HTML5 applications forward in this way, hopefully we’ll see the same happen on iOS and Android down the track.
.