Amazon is launching a way for Android users to find apps that will actually run on their device.Sometimes going to the Google Play Store is like playing the lottery. You download an app and just hope that it will work on your specific Android smartphone or tablet.
Although many apps are specifically not available for certain devices, they can still pop up in searches for those devices.
The online retailer is specifically going after developers to get them to incorporate special code within their apps that tag them as optimal for its Kindle Fire tablet.
“While it is easy to support optional APIs and device capabilities within a single binary, you may decide that it is easiest for your apps to generate different binaries for the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD. For each title, you can now offer separate APKs for Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD 7″, Kindle Fire HD 8.9″, and general Android (all non-Amazon) devices,” Amazon wrote in a statement.
Even for those without a Kindle Fire, Amazon is hoping to use this new feature to increase its position in the market of Android app discovery. The online retailer has an Amazon Appstore for Android storefront, allowing customers with any Android device to purchase apps through Amazon.
More about this new feature, called Device Targeting, is available on Amazon’s developer page.
