The world’s first smartphone pre-loaded with the new Amazon Appstore for Android is set to hit the largest privately owned wireless provider in the US, Cellular South. According to this afternoon’s press release, the HTC Merge will come pre-loaded with Amazon’s Appstore, is this a sign of the future?
Let’s get down to business with a quick recap of the HTC Merge. The Merge is powered by Android 2.2 Froyo, runs HTC Sense and features a 3.8-inch touchscreen and full QWERTY slide-out keyboard. On the rear is a 5-megapixel camera capable of shooting 720p HD video. There’s also the standard suite of connectivity options you’d expect in a smarpthone — GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G data/voice. The HTC Merge’s real claim to fame is that it is HTC’s first dual-mode CDMA/GSM handset to run Android.
Now let’s cover the significance of the Amazon/Cellular South deal. In the US, Verizon Wireless made the first notable partnership to augment the Android experience by replacing Google Search with Bing. Today, a similar trends looks to be developing for carrier’s hoping to offer an alternative app store experience. By pre-loading the Amazon AppStore for Android on the HTC Merge, Cellular South could be a setting an industry trend. If you’re wondering why a carrier would pre-load the new Appstore, we’d imagine Amazon is offering a nice bit of revenue sharing for the effort.
via Cellular South
