It is no longer just about native Android (News – Alert) apps in the Amazon Appstore. The company announced it will now offer HTML5 apps. That’s welcome news for developers and publishers, as well as customers.

"You can submit your Web apps and mobile optimized websites and have them merchandized alongside native apps on Amazon and Kindle Fire in nearly 200 countries worldwide," Amazon announced in a blog post.

The addition could help the market for HTML5 apps, which are popular for their ability to run on smartphones using a Web browser. 


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Among the new Web apps new found in the Amazon Appstore are Dream Pet Link from Spil Games, and IGN Video Game Reviews, News & Previews from IGN Entertainment.

The number of native apps in the Amazon Appstore is expected to increase soon. As the inventory builds up, it will change from the old environment where there was no main location to get HTML5 apps.

“There is not one central store where users can go to easily find them,” according to a report from The Los Angeles Times.

There were other limitations when it comes to web apps for mobile devices, such as smartphones.

In the past, third-party software had to be used to change mobile Web content to native apps – in order to use an app store. Debugging was another issue.

But Amazon says now there is distribution to millions of Amazon customers via Android devices and Kindle Fire. With Amazon, developers just send in their URLs and metadata for HTML5 Web apps and mobile websites. In addition, there is quicker Web runtime on Kindle Fire. Tools allow for debugging on Kindle Fire. Amazon’s In-App Purchasing API is now available for JavaScript, which can lead to higher revenue.

"We’ve heard from developers that making their web apps available for mobile devices is hard because many times it means rewriting their app, which takes extra time and often requires third party tools," Mike George, vice president of Amazon Appstore, Games and Cloud Drive, explained in a statement carried by TMCnet. "By launching support for HTML5 Web apps in the Mobile App Distribution Program, we’re giving web developers the tools they need and all the benefits that native apps already enjoy in the Amazon Appstore and on Kindle Fire. This opens up new possibilities-starting with faster discovery, access to tools for increased monetization, and the ability to reach new customers for greater exposure."