Signs are pointing to an imminent launch by Amazon of its App Store - and one that is going to the mat in terms of pricing. According to screen shots captured by AndroidNews of a demo site that has since gone dark, the Amazon store will be offering some titles at lower prices than the Android Market - in some cases, as much as 40% less.

At those prices, CNET notes, the Amazon App Store could be a bigger competitor to Google than GetJar. The app store also offered a couple of titles not available through other channels, such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Force Recon. Possibly, CNET speculated, Amazon may retain exclusive rights to the game, leading to a scenario in which other games, from Glu Mobile or Activision, to debut on Amazon to the exclusion of other sites.

Already Rovio Mobile has announced it will be offering Angry Birds: Rio exclusively through the Amazon store.

Price as a Weapon

Platforms are becoming increasingly competitive as they compete for developers. Amazon clearly thinks price will be important, The Independent says, pointing to controversial terms and conditions that permit it to vary prices without negotiating with the application publisher. They are also becoming increasingly intolerant of other platforms. GetJar recently kicked out Opera’s mini browser from its own so-called open app store after Opera announced it would be rolling out a device agnostic App Store, which it did in short order.

What does all this mean for developers? Not necessarily convenience, as one would think. At bottom they are hostage to the mobile platforms’ rules, which can be easily tailored to keep products exclusive to them.