Amazon is building its own app store and has opened a developer portal for those interested in creating apps for Android-based devices, the company said in a Tuesday blog post.

"The sheer number of apps available today makes it hard for customers to find high-quality, relevant products - and developers simply struggle to get their apps noticed," Amazon said. "Amazon's innovative marketing and merchandising features are designed to help customers find and discover relevant products from our vast selection, and we're excited to apply those capabilities to the apps market segment."

Amazon said that it has a strong interest in developing its mobile segment and that it is particularly interested in developing apps for Google's operating system. A number of apps are already offered from Amazon itself, including a shopping app, Amazon Price Check, and Windowshop for iPad. Kindle, it's e-reader software, is also available across multiple platforms, including iOS, BlackBerry, Android, and most recently Windows Phone 7.

"An Appstore is a logical next step for Amazon in mobile," the company said.

Google's Android platform has been gaining steam over the past year. According to Nielsen's State of the Media 2010 report, Android is the third most popular platform in the U.S. with 25.8 percent of the smartphone market. Apple took the top spot with 28.6 percent of the market and BlackBerry snagged second place with 26.1 percent.

Nielsen also said that 40 percent of those who purchased a smartphone in the last six months purchased an Android-based device.

Although the platform is growing, Amazon will no doubt face competition from Google's own Android Market. Recent reports have said that there are already more than 200,000 apps in the store. That's double the figure that was reported at the end of October, though Google itself has yet to confirm this report.