Those gutsy so-and-so’s over at Amazon.com have made an interesting move, and have begun offering their own alternative to the Mac App Store, which they call the Mac Download Store.
At launch, the new store offers over 200 software titles, as well as over 50 games. While Amazon is able to offer cheaper prices on some of these programs, as well as offering some software that the Mac App Store doesn’t (such as MS Office for Mac), I wonder if it will really catch on.
Amazon does not offer the same compelling interface, nor the “one-click” installs that the Mac App Store brings to the table, nor is it integrated as well into OS X. Plus, in general, I have some level of distain for people that have nothing better to do than one-up and undercut their competition.
Still, this new competition for Apple could serve as a good thing, possibly lowering prices and encouraging more rapid innovation with Apple’s Mac App Store (which has a much broader selection of titles.
To celebrate the launch, you can get $5 off at Amazon’s new Mac Download Store by entering code SAVE5MAC in the Promo box.
With Amazon trying to undercut everything Apple tries to do, I wonder how long it will be before Amazon purchases Cydia or something and starts to offer an iPhone download store as well…
Your thoughts? Sound off in the comments!