Official Amazon App for WP7 out for US customers

[Strider_Aus]

Hey all,

The smooth looking Metro-based official Amazon App is now out.

Review @Windowsphoneblog

Wouldn't mind some feedback from abi readers with WP7 how it works....as this app is ANOTHER region restricted release, with Australia missing out. This is despite the fact we can have active Amazon US accounts over the web, and buy a variety of items including books, DVD's and Blu-rays.

[kasrhp]

Or you could have used this as your review point

http://anythingbutiphone.com/749

[Strider_Aus]

Nice. LOL I hadn't even seen that front end section for abi(phone) Doh! Good review.

[copeys]

Originally Posted by Strider_Aus

Wouldn't mind some feedback from abi readers with WP7 how it works....as this app is ANOTHER region restricted release, with Australia missing out. This is despite the fact we can have active Amazon US accounts over the web, and buy a variety of items including books, DVD's and Blu-rays.

I don't think all those people bypassing the region restrictions and having US accounts in other countries is a reason to release it worldwide

[Strider_Aus]

Originally Posted by copeys

I don't think all those people bypassing the region restrictions and having US accounts in other countries is a reason to release it worldwide

Actually, Amazon UK and US happily accept O/S orders (and accounts) with some limitations:

Introduction

Amazon.com gladly accepts orders from all around the globe. Available product lines, shipping rates and fees may vary depending on the delivery address for your order.

To see the shipping rate information specific to your order's destination, click the link for your region at the bottom of this page under the heading "Related Topics."

Items from Amazon Marketplace can be shipped to several international regions, but cannot be shipped to Africa, Island Nations, Israel, Latin America, or the Middle East. Read more about Amazon Marketplace shipping rates.

Some items sold by Amazon Merchants may be shipped internationally. Amazon Merchants set their own shipping rates and policies.

Read more about shipping to U.S. protectorates or APO, FPO, or DPO addresses.

Your packages may be subject to the customs fees and import duties of the country to which you have your order shipped. These charges are always the recipient's responsibility. For further details, read about Restrictions (which apply to all international shipments) and Import Fees Deposits.
Restrictions

The following items can be shipped to almost all destinations outside the U.S.:

* books*
* DVDs
* music
* VHS videos

Additionally, some consumer electronics, health and personal care, home and garden, jewelry, pet supplies, shoes, software, sporting goods, tools, video games, and watches can be shipped to the following countries:

* Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom

Visit our Amazon Global Program store to browse products that are available for shipping to these destinations.

Global Store: http://tinyurl.com/335jva

so there :P no excuses Amazon !

[Strider_Aus]

Amazon responded to my concerns re: O/S release:

Some of the points they made to me;

We do intend to release the app in locales outside the US eventually. The restriction is from Amazon, not MS.

So the app is currently a V1 app released for their major market. Amazon;

We have learned in the past with other app releases that releasing multiple versions pointing to different locales (.co.uk, .de, etc) causes a lot of confusion by customers who have multiple apps on their device. It also becomes very difficult to manage updates in multiple locations through the developer portal (in this case Microsoft's). Its also harder on our devs to keep track of multiple versions for different locales.

That's their reasoning for their APP development path – being US first....then a single app with subsequent updates to expand access to other regions and multiple Amazon marketplaces.

"Rest assured that we are going to get this out soon and it will be set up from the start to grow and support all Amazon stores around the world and provide the best possible shopping experience."

Bring it on!

[kasrhp]

One thing I always liked with Amazon customer support, they always seem to actually answer your question. No half assed answers. Not every answer is what you want, but you know they actually looked at your question.