Amazon Opens the Android door for Speech Therapy Apps

You could almost hear a collective “Wow” echo around the techno-sphere when Amazon announced the release of its new set of Kindle e-readers. The devices look nice and present a serious challenge to Apple’s iPad if you believe all the media hype. But what makes the Amazon Fire so promising when other tablets have barely made a dent in the iPad’s popularity? As Jeff Bezos said at the launch, and I’m paraphrasing, it’s the Amazon service.

Apple App Store & iOS

iTunes customers already know the difference service makes in a product. One of the most under appreciated aspects of this service in the Apple platform is the Apple quality assurance program. Apple tests every app before it hits the App Store shelves to make sure it meets Apple’s high performance standards. That means customers know an app will work when they buy it. The Android market works differently.

The Android Market & OS

Apps for the Android market go through no quality assurance process outside of the developer’s own review. In fact, the release process for Android apps is shockingly simple – write the app, send the app to the Android Market and boom, the app is on the shelf. The simplicity and ease of this process is great for developers, but unfortunately for Android app buyers, it can result in a lot stuff of questionable quality. And if you have a problem with anything what will you do? Apple makes customer support very clear. Each developer supports its own apps. But if you’re still not happy after contacting the developer, you can always go to Apple.

Apple vs. Android

This is where Amazon will make a big difference in the Android app market space. They will become the dominant point-of-contact for Android Apps. They have the size, the resources and the financial motivation to make this work. So, if you’re a speech therapist with a longing in your heart for tablet computer, but couldn’t get past the purchase price for an iPad, your wait could be over soon. But until Amazon or some other quality assurance agent stands behind the product, be careful about what the apps you feed your Fire. As the old saying goes, “You are what you eat.”

 

What are your plans for buying a tablet computer? Will the “Fire” make you take the leap? If so, what apps would buy?