Amazon has announced a change to its Appstore today, which will now allow developers building HTML5 (web-based) applications to price those apps to sell, just the same as their natively coded counterparts. Previously, all HTML5 apps were automatically set to “free” when added to the Appstore, which may have lessened developer interest and uptake in this feature.
As you may recall, Amazon took the notable stance of opening its Appstore to HTML5 apps last August, offering developers a way to quickly turn their web applications and mobile sites into Android apps that could be downloaded anywhere the Amazon Appstore is able to run, including on Amazon’s Kindle Fire devices, as well as on other Android smartphones and tablets.
Developers wanting to use this option did not have to do any native app development – instead, they simply submit their URLs and Amazon does all the work of packaging up the app in the correct format, and adding the necessary metadata (like images, product descriptions, etc.).
The move was one which Amazon had likely hoped would help its Appstore grow, by capitalizing on the fact that, while many developers today still go iOS-first, they often still have at their ready a responsive website which runs well on Android.
Another great win for HTML5.
And now the great question, ¿what do you program in?
Pablo Clemente Pérez 