So far, Amazon has not been great to developers. (Or book publishers, for that matter.) By most accounts, dealing with Amazon is actually much worse for developers than dealing with Apple. By putting your app in the Amazon Appstore, you’re giving up a lot more control than Apple asks of us: you’re giving up the ability to set your own price and control your app’s description, among many other restrictions. By comparison, it makes Apple look almost… open.

Today Amazon has launched Windowshop, an iPad application the company describes as "a complete rewrite of Amazon.com specifically for the iPad." The app does not appear to update or replace Amazon's previous iPad application called Amazon Mobile.

Instead, Windowshop is a new standalone experience with a completely different, more visual interface than its predecessor.

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Look Familiar?

Essentially, Windowshop is a new touch-enabled visual search engine for Amazon.com. Product categories are featured at the top of the page and you use your finger to flip through the screens. Not surprisingly, the first category listed is "Electronics."

If the user interface seems familiar that's because it is - back in 2008, Amazon launched Windowshop.com, a Web-based visual search site organized in much of the same way. The iPad app is apparently a touch-enabled and revamped version of this website, whose URL now points to the iPad application download page on Amazon.com.

Using the App

As with the older site, content within each category is scrollable vertically, while browsing through categories is scrollable horizontally.

At the top of the app is a search box, home button and browse button, which takes you to a full list of categories, so you can narrow down your search.

You can also sign in to your Amazon account in order to make purchases and add items to your wish list. The wish list is accessible from the top right "Menu" button. A swipe across a listed item allows you to delete it, just as you would delete an email.

After only a few minutes of playing with Windowshop, I can tell you that it's a lot more fun than the old Windowshop.com ever was, mainly because it's touch-enabled. However, it's too soon to tell if it will really replace Amazon Mobile as the Amazon iPad app of choice.

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