Web (2.0)

Amazon Software Downloads Arrive

By EAN ⋅ January 7, 2008 ⋅  Email this Post ⋅  Print this Post ⋅ Post a Comment

Much like many online shoppers, I tend to buy the majority of my commercial software from Amazon. Their prices are fair, their shipping speed decent, and their quality of service is generally top notch. But now there is a whole new reason to buy software from Amazon–they’re offering software for download. Immediate delivery right to your hard drive and you get to check out what you’ve bought in your personal media library.

But there’s a couple of catches.

To begin with, you need a Windows PC in order to run Amazon’s proprietary “Software Downloader“. Hopefully this won’t be too much of a problem in the long run, as Amazon will hopefully include an installer for Apple users as their downloadable software library continues to expand.

Which leads us to the second problem. There is only one program you can currently purchase. TurboTax (and its multitude of variations). While Amazon’s comprehensive FAQ about downloading software is a sure indicator that there will be more programs to likely come, I’m anxiously awaiting to see what other companies Amazon will choose to do business with.