The Amazon Appstore has quickly become a major force in paid mobile app sales for Google's Android platform, according to a new report from Distimo. The mobile app analytics firm found that 42 of the top 110 paid mobile apps available from both Google and Amazon generated more revenue through the Amazon Appstore than Android Market last month.

Amazon's new Kindle Fire, which sold more than 3.9 million units in the final three months of 2011, was the driving force behind Amazon's mobile app sales in January. However, Amazon may also have benefited from having less clutter in its Appstore, which offers about 26,800 apps as opposed to the 400,000-plus apps on tap in Android Market.

Only 32 percent of the mobile offerings at Android Market were paid apps in January. By contrast, paid mobile apps in Amazon's Appstore accounted for around 65 percent of the total and have also been selling for substantially less than what Google charges, on average.

The average price of the top 100 paid applications in the Amazon Appstore is 40 percent lower than in the Google Android Market, said Hendrik Koekkoek, author of the report for Distimo, which is based in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

"One of the reasons could be that Amazon is responsible for setting the price in its store," Koekkoek said. "While all available paid apps are $3.13 in the Google Android Market, these applications are $2.77 in the Amazon Appstore."

Creating a Platform Within a Platform

What Amazon appears to be doing is creating a platform within a platform, and is off to a good start with more than 26,000 apps already in stock, said Al Hilwa, director of applications software development at IDC.

"By leveraging the Android ecosystem, Amazon is able to bring apps very quickly [to market]," Hilwa said. "The work involved in...