Google Play Store is a great place to find apps and games, but it’s not the only option. There are plenty of other app stores out there that you can use if you’re looking for a different type of app experience. Here are five of the best alternatives to Google Play Store:

  1. App Store for Android - This store is designed specifically for Android devices, and it offers a much more user-friendly interface than Google Play Store. You can search by keyword or by category, and you can download apps and games directly from this store.
  2. App Store for iOS - This store is also designed specifically for iOS devices, and it offers a more user-friendly interface than Google Play Store. You can search by keyword or by category, and you can download apps and games directly from this store.
  3. Amazon Appstore - This store is similar to the Amazon Kindle Fire’s Amazon Appstore, but it’s available on both Android and iOS devices. You can search by keyword or by category, and you can download apps and games directly from this store.
  4. Windows Phone Store - This store is available on Windows Phone devices, and it offers a more user-friendly interface than Google PlayStore. You can search by keyword or by category, and you can download apps and games directly from this store.
  5. Apple Appstore - This store is available on Apple devices, and it offers a more user-friendly interface than Google PlayStore. You can search by keyword or by category, and you can download apps and games directly from this store

Curious about alternatives to the Google Play Store (formerly the Android Market) for reading app reviews and downloading content? Read on as we explore some of the alternatives.

Today’s Question & Answer session comes to us courtesy of Android Enthusiasts—a subdivision of Stack Exchange, a community-driven grouping of Q&A web sites.

The Question

Android Enthusiasts reader Captain Toad is curious about alternatives to the Google Play Store (aka Android Market):

So where else can shoppers go?

I know that there are at least two others: SlideME and AppBrain which I have looked at and seem useful but which ones do you use and why?

The Answers

Android Enthusiasts contributor Stefano offers not only a long list of alternative markets but what’s interesting about each of them:

Have something to add to the explanation? Sound off in the the comments. Want to read more answers from other tech-savvy Stack Exchange users? Check out the full discussion thread here.

Until, well, yesterday, the ‘official’ market would not have been available from your PC (meaning: on a PC web browser). Now it is, with a neat push-to-your-phone one click installation that is taking away one of the advantages of the competition (see appbrain). The alternative markets, though, have still their peculiarities… I’ll make a short summary but don’t expect it to highlight all of the differences. Some markets (eg. andspot) do not offer very specific features to users, but try to gather developers by offering advanced features such as easy stats.

[Also] a lot of review/forum sites will link to one or more of these markets, eg androidtapp or androidpit androlib.

I suggest you click on some of these links and see for yourself if the look/applications suit your style!

Various sources and in particular this thenextweb.com article.