Alternatives to the Android Market

So you have an Android phone that you want to be able to make your own, or you may feel a little restricted by Google's Android Market.  What other options are out there?  I do a lot of talking and linking to things in Android Market, but I also talk and link a lot about the Amazon Appstore. The Amazon Appstore (among others - see below) is an alternate place to download apps for Android and along with the below list gives you the freedom to get your apps from anywhere.

I will cover a handful of app stores below. Feel free to check them out and comment about your experiences.

Name: SlideME App Store Description: SlideME is a great alternative to the Google Android Market, and is the site that has made recent (geek gamer) news because of the user yongzh getting booted out of Google's market and pulling all of his apps and moving over to SlideME and releasing them for free. He is the author of the (insert-classic-system-here)OID games like, NESOID, SNESOID, GameBoid. Just for those apps alone you should go check out the SlideME appstore. Download Link: http://goo.gl/P8VoU (SlideMe.org)

Name: AndSpot.com Description: AndSpot takes a unique approach to the idea of an app store. One that all you power users out there will love. They have a monthly service that gives you UNLIMITED Android app downloads for a low low monthly rate of $8 per month. It is in Beta so you have to sign up for it and wait to get an invite. Download Link: http://goo.gl/2EEMd(AndSpot.com)

Name: Aproov Description: Aproov is a web based app "store" that specializes is only Free apps. This is great if you are someone that spends a lot of time looking through the regular market's free section and struggle with it because it is not designed for just free apps, where this app store is designed just for that. Download Link: http://goo.gl/Y930E (Aproov.com)

Name: OnlyAndroid (Mobihand.com) Description: OnlyAndroid is an app store that has an option that is similar to the Amazon Appstore. It offers a "deal of the day" on an android app or service. Although it is not a free app, but it also does include services, for example the deal for today (7/29/11) is a 15 month subscription to the SmrtGuard service which gives you data backup and a lost phone finder service for 50% off. It is definitely a site to keep tabs on because they might offer a great deal on that certain app you have been eyeing. Download Link: http://goo.gl/kNGYB (onlyandroid.mobihand.com)

Name: Amazon App Store Description: Amazon Appstore is the alternative appstore that I am obviously a huge fan of mainly because of the feature they offer every day that gives you a FREE app that you can just download. No strings attached. They have a great selection of apps and almost all of the apps have a sale price that is cheaper than the "normal" Android Market. Download Link: http://goo.gl/BRkOt (Amazon.com)

Some "Best of the Best" accessories for your Android phone: