Amazon Is Offering Developers Up To $15,000 In Amazon Coins To Make Apps For Its Fire Phone
Amazon is offering $5,000 per app optimized for Fire Phone, paid out in tax-free Amazon Coins, the digital currency that lets you buy stuff in Amazon's Appstore. Each developer account can create up to three qualifying apps for a total potential payday of $15,000.
We first heard about the story on AndroidPolice.
Of course, there are some strict guidelines to follow in order to qualify for the full $5,000 per app.
Here's the official guidelines from Amazon's developer website:
Basically, Amazon is ensuring that its new 3-D "Dynamic Perspective" feature will be used to some extent in the app, which would help the feature from falling into gimmicky obscurity. Dynamic Perspective is a bit similar to the parallax feature on iPhones, but it takes things to another level by using the Fire Phone's extra cameras to add 3-D depth to apps and home screens, so that things shift and react to your movements.
Other than that, Amazon is also requiring apps to integrate with its multitasking user interface "Carousel" to keep browsing between different apps cohesive.
Why is Amazon offering developers essentially free money?
It's important to remember that Amazon is entering the smartphone market at a time where fragmentation is at an all time high. This trend can increase the workload for developers seeking to offer their app on as many platforms as possible, an issue Android has run into into in the past, and Apple could face if it continues to expand its iPhone product line.
This is simply Amazon's way of compensating developers for taking the extra time to make sure their app plays well with Fire Phone.
Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.