Amazon Appstore Arrives in Canada With a Free App of the Day
What happened
Amazon had been expanding its services to more countries over a single week. Its cloud service arrived in Canada first, and the app store followed. Until then the store could only be used in the US.
How the Amazon app store worked
It was Amazon’s own Android app store, used mainly on its tablets, which lacked Google’s services. It could also be installed on other Android devices. It was smaller than the Play Store, which had a much larger catalogue.
The Free App of the Day
- Each day, one normally paid app was offered at $0.
- Most were games, but productivity apps and other types appeared as well.
- On the day of the original post, the paid version of Fruit Ninja was the free app.
Early hiccups
The author had trouble getting downloads to start on the first day, but they worked normally on the second.
Status today
The daily free app promotion and the app store’s Canadian availability have changed since this post. Check the current state of the store before relying on any of the details above.
Frequently asked questions
Why would a phone owner use the Amazon store?
The main draw was the Free App of the Day.
Why did Amazon tablets need their own store?
The tablets did not include Google's services, so they could not use the Play Store.
Was the store the same size as the Play Store?
No. It was less extensive.