Whether it's delivery drones or getting the U.S. Postal Service to ship packages on Sundays, Amazon continues to remain innovative and ahead of the game, as further evidenced with their mobile app, Amazon Underground.
While the app can potentially replace both the Amazon Shopping app and its companion Amazon Appstore app, the real news is how they're offering tons of great, paid apps for free, replacing the Free App of the Day program they previously practiced.
How Are Paid Apps Actually Free?
Instead of charging for applications, Amazon has deals with thousands of developers where compensation is based on the duration of usage of their app. This allows developers to waive their costs while Amazon monitors per-minute usage of their apps.
Not only that, but Amazon is branding the service as #ActuallyFree, meaning that these apps won't be able to charge you later through in-app purchases, which are universally hated among all smartphone users.
How to Get Amazon Underground
Since Google won't permit other app store services on the Play Store, you'll have to install Amazon Underground from Amazon's website. But before doing so, make sure you've enabled app installation from "Unknown sources" on your device.
After downloading it, tap on the notification that says it's completed to finish installing it. You can also tap on the .apk file from your Downloads folder to start the installation process.
Getting All the Free Apps
Like an Amazon Shopping and Appstore hybrid, Underground will offer physical goods and paid apps in addition to the "actually free" apps. Navigate to the Apps & Games section and select "Underground Apps" for the extensive list of free apps and games that may cost you a few dollars on the Google Play Store.
If Amazon was trying to steal customers from Google, then this was definitely the right move. Smartphone users aren't particularly keen on paying for apps or games, but developers should definitely get paid for the great work they put in, so this concept may benefit and satisfy both parties.
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