Test Drive Before you Buy, Says Amazon

Amazon launched their App Store for Android last week (and ended up getting sued in the process) and they’ve even differentiated themselves from Google’s own Android Market with a unique way to try Apps before you buy them.

Test Drive Unlimited?

Test Drive, one of the App Store’s features lets users get a taste of the apps they’re interested in using an Android Virtual Machine that works via a desktop browser. It works just like a smartphone would, except it’s controlled by the mouse, and users can even browse the internet within the virtual machine (browsing the internet while browsing the internet, heh.).

"Test Drive lets customers truly experience an app before they commit to buying. It is a unique, new way to shop for apps," says Paul Ryder, vice president of electronics for Amazon.com. "Our customers have told us that the sheer number of apps available can make it hard to find apps that are high quality and relevant to them. We've spent years developing innovative features that help customers discover relevant products. By applying these features - plus new ones like Test Drive - we're aiming to give customers a refreshing app shopping experience."

Anyway, all of this doesn’t hold any meaning for us as long as the Amazon App Store isn’t made available for those outside the US, but we’re hopeful it does eventually because we could use some cool features like these.