What the what?? Just a few days ago I downloaded the app Cut the Rope – Time Travel for free from Amazon’s Free App of the Day. Now it looks like they’ve turned that concept upside down only to appear suddenly online with a strange new idea: free android apps for all.
That’s right, in the strange but true category, if you go to Amazon App Store for Android, you will be greeted with a welcome sign to Amazon Underground and the following message:
Check out that last paragraph, “The Amazon Underground app is a long-term program rather than a one-off promotion. Over time, we’ll continue to invent and add more benefits to Underground.”
What the what? As a happy Prime customer of Amazon, I continue to see the benefits of that program, even though I pay an annual fee for it. Here, I can only surmise that Amazon wanted a way to get more game at their site or they wanted to make Google Play Store cringe a bit. Or maybe, they just want more access to YOU. There’s a novel idea.
Getting the Underground app was a little sticky for me. I already had the Amazon App Store loaded on my phone and I just upgraded it from there. You may have to follow the directions on Amazon’s website. (Obviously the Underground app is NOT available in the Google Play Store and you will have to side load it, but it does work.) Scroll down on this url to see this message:
You will also have to enable installation of apps from unknown sources on your phone settings, allowing for that cad “vulnerability” to show up. Kidding not aside, it’s an Android phone folks – vulnerability abounds.
Once you finally download the thing, open it up and awayyyyyyyyyy you go! Sure, every app in the world isn’t listed here and to be sure, there’s a reason some of these apps are free. I for one am NOT complaining; I mean the Goat Simulator is FREE! There are other apps besides games too!
Honestly, I haven’t even had time to download one of these puppies; my phone is so overloaded right now. After I give the old internal storage a good cleaning though, I’ll be good to go. What about you? Are you GAME?
I don’t think Google Play Store has much to worry about because as far as I could see, almost all the free apps on Amazon Underground are games!
But I did install the London Underground app, which hopefully will be easier than trying to navigate to the Transport for London website when I need to plan a journey 🙂
True, Sheri, it really isn’t a threat to the Google Play Store, I was somewhat kidding about that, but what I do hope is that Amazon does add some really worthwhile apps to the database over time and avoid making people just miss the free app of the day. Time will tell.
Did you actually read the permissions this app wants? 46! Totally uncalled for. I’ll pass.
Permissions for apps is something I struggle with every time I want a new app for my Android phone. It certainly is your right to take a pass based on that alone. I dislike Facebook Messenger for the same reason but my friends insist on using it to send me messages on my phone so I’m stuck with it.
Strangely, this underground is NOT available for Amazon FIRE phone. Amazon best stick with retailing online goods and stay away from anything requiring tech knowledge.
Amazing also how Amazon continues to fail to identify software on its own store as to Fire phone compatibility.
I noted that Robert, and believe me, Amazon is taking a lot of grief for this. Hopefully they’ll take steps to alleviate this problem down the line.