Update: The site has been taken down for some reason. So this is probably the first or one of the first reviews you will read.

It looks like a smart initiative but it is still far from perfect. We looked at it closely and discovered a few things that Amazon could dramatically improve right now.

Caveat: It could be that the launch is not fully complete and that what we observed will addressed soon. 

This is what Amazon sends you by email to install the Appstore app:

Not to mention that this process requires you to change a setting on your device to enable downloads of apps from Unknown Sources. Who ever thought we'd speak "Amazon" and "Unknown Source" in the same breath?

Ok, that's cool: Amazon has done all the dirty work of bringing you the best of the best. The only problem? It is far from being only the best.

Take the Kids category. The Top 100 has only four apps. Making a good app store is about addressing the long tail (check out http://getap.ps/apps4kids if you want to find lots of high-quality apps for kids).

This image speaks for itself:

Amazon, please help us find the FREE apps by marking them FREE. This is so much easier!

I tried to post a review for an app and Amazon wants you to include at least 25 words. Problem: There is no counter and you never know when you've reached the minimum.

The opportunity to try an app from your desktop is cool. Again, there's a problem: This feature is not available yet.

What apps are relevant to my geo? This information is impossible to find. Local discovery is one of the most important things in building an App Store. Amazon's App Store is conceived for the US market, not the global market.

Putting local relevance aside, I could not even download Angry Birds because of geo restrictions since I am out of the US.

I opened the Recommendations area in the app. Amazon is famous for its product recommendations. What did I get? Nothing. 

"We're sorry, recommendations are not available right now"

It is surprising Amazon does not try to identify which apps you already own on your device (something that Appsfire does). Drawing recommendations from the apps that you already use is something that would dramatically improve recommendations. It would also enable Amazon to avoid recommending apps that I already own.

There is a lot of information and calls to action, but at the cost of the eye being driven away in a thousand different directions. The Android Market has its faults but at least it helps you quickly find what you need.

Probably because the store is new, there are many inconsistencies and bugs (links that lead to a wrong page, typos, icons that are not rounded). It could also be that the launch is not totally announced and so Amazon stopped the redirections.

I also felt there is too much scrolling required in the site. The app is cleaner and offers some nice features compared to the Android Market.

Ok, you want to do something better than the Market? I want to see my friends, I want to see faces. Not just anonymous reviews and collaborative filtering recommendations. We need life, not just another catalog.

• The opportunity to include your own screenshots
• Video reviews
• The Free App a Day operation (nothing new, but with Amazon power)
• The one-click install (we could not try it, but at best it will be like the one from the Market) and purchase (big + of Amazon)