Nov 11, 2011 12:37 PM,

Amazon Appstore Redesign, In Time for Kindle Fire, Not Great for Android Market

By Michelle Maisto

Amazon has redesigned its already well-liked Appstore in time for the Kindle Fire-- not great news for Google's Android Market, which some shoppers have already turned away from in favor of the Appstore.

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Google has taken pains to spiffy up and streamline the appearance of Gmail, though it's the Android Market that could use some help. According to a number of reports, shoppers have been turning to the easier-to-use Amazon Appstore for their Android app needs, finding it a better experience. Recently, that experience was improved further, and there's little wonder about the motivation: the Amazon Kindle Fire, which goes on sale Nov. 15.

Last night, Android Police first reported, Amazon pushed out an update to the Appstore, most notably changing its user interface from white to charcoal with orange accents — exactly the color scheme of the Fire.

In addition to its new appearance, said the report:

... the Appstore also has support for in-app purchases and parental controls now, as well as a page where you can check permissions before you purchase an app. Download and load times have also been improved, so you'll spend less time waiting and more time... doing whatever else.

Analysts expect the Fire — which starts at $199, compared to $499 for the larger iPad 2 — to enjoy strong holiday sales, though its arrival date could be an issue.

"We are going with the low end (3 million) of our previous estimate of 3 million to 5 million units sold this holiday season," Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps blogged in September, after Amazon's big reveal, "because Amazon isn't shipping the Kindle Fire until November 15, fairly late in the holiday season."

Rotman Epps added that while the Fire is "solidly a content consumption device," the iPad, to its benefit, can do "double-duty as a work and leisure device."

Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston was likewise unworried for the iPad, though he does expect the Fire to "put a sizeable dent in Apple's armor." (CP: Amazon Kindle sales could smoke Apple's iPad debut.) If anyone should be worried, it's Barnes and Noble. The Fire, said Mawston, could quickly take out the Nook.

It remains to be seen what it can do to Google's Android Market.