Amazon is talking up its Appstore selection as the company reportedly gears up to launch its very own smartphone later this week.
The online retail giant on Monday morning said its Appstore selection has "nearly tripled" in the past year to more than 240,000 apps and games. That's still a drop in the bucket compared to Apple's App Store and Google Play, both of which boast roughly 1.2 million apps.
Still, Amazon said that developers are reporting "strong monetization from the apps they offer in the store." A recent IDC survey of 360 smartphone and tablet apps developers, commissioned by Amazon, found that 65 percent made just as much or more money on the Kindle Fire than they have on other platforms. Moreover, the number of new developers joining the Appstore per month has "close to doubled" in the last year, Amazon said.
"Developers tell us that they experience improved reach, greater monetization, and, oftentimes, higher revenue when they have their apps and games in the Amazon Appstore," Mike George, vice president of Amazon Appstore and games, said in a statement. "But this is just the beginning — we're building more services and capabilities for developers and more Android-based APIs based on their feedback."
According to April data from App Annie, worldwide downloads from Google Play exceeded iOS App Store downloads by around 45 percent from January to March, up from 35 percent in the previous quarter, the firm said. But when it comes to revenue, the iOS App Store remained "comfortably ahead" raking in 85 percent more money than Google Play. App Annie did not break out Amazon Appstore data.
Amazon also said its Coins virtual currency has taken off since launching last year. Customers have spent "hundreds of millions" of Coins on apps, games, and in-app items.
The timing of Amazon's announcement is no coincidence. The company is getting ready for a big media event in Seattle this Wednesday, where it's widely expected to introduce its first-ever smartphone.
Rumors about an Amazon smartphone date back to 2011. Thus far, Amazon has stuck to tablets and e-readers, but time and again, reports about an Amazon phone have cropped up and made headlines. Things really ramped up in April 2013 when former Windows Phone executive Charlie Kindel was hired by Amazon to work on "something secret," according to Kindel's LinkedIn profile at the time.
PCMag will be at Amazon's event this Wednesday, so stay tuned for all the news.
In the meantime, if your stash of Amazon Coins is running a little low, MapQuest on Monday launched a weeklong promotion offering 199 Amazon Coins to those who download its free MapQuest navigation app and purchase an MLB team kit. The $1.99 MLB team kit lets you customize the app with your favorite team's colors and logo as well as a baseball-themed progress bar.