[ Paul Hochman, contributing writer to Fast Company, introduces the Appstore. ]

LAUNCH editors recently stumbled across the promotional video for the Amazon Appstore that boasts eight "simple" steps to download an app, whereas all iPhone users have to do is enter their credit card information to start marking purchases.

"I thought they were trying to be campy, but they're actually serious," +Thai Train, founder and CEO of Lightbox, writes on Google+.

Android users must set their phones to allow the installation of non-Market applications, since doing so makes the phone more vulnerable to viruses. After users choose an app online, they must enter their phone number to have the app sent to their phone for download.

The Amazon Appstore for Android launched March 22, 2011. In August, Apple filed a lawsuit against Amazon for using the term "Appstore" and effectively prohibited developers in Germany from submitting Android applications. See our story [ here. ]

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