Conventional pricing, AT&T locked, contract required unless you want to pay iPhone-level prices for an Android 4.x based experience.
The 3D is most certainly a gimmick, unless they actually have meaningful content that leverages it (maps? games?).
I predict sales will be as flat as the HTC First, but Amazon will claim it's the highest selling phone on amazon.com (which there's no way of us tying to reality in any way as we won't get the numbers).
Amazon never releases their numbers, they just pretend like all their products are high-sellers and worthy of being compared to Apple, Samsung or Microsoft flagship products.
Only interesting points to me are they mayday feature and likely integration with PlayTime. Of course, I won't really know because I'm not going to buy one any time soon.
But you're missing the point. Most posters here are interested in Apple (this isn't eCommerceInsider, after all), so their/our reaction to this Amazon stuff is mostly about how it will effect Apple. There's nothing wrong with that. This is just another Android phone with Amazon's marketing muscle behind it.
Ok, listen this is my issue in all fairness: I don't like the way that many posters here simply automatically dismiss everything that happens in the tech industry if it wasn't built by Apple. And I know that many will argue that this perspective is unfounded and untrue. But I think an honest examination of the stuff people post here will reveal otherwise.
Why I mostly hate that kind of thing is pretty simple, really: It's hubris. And pride. And absolutely such things do ALWAYS precede a fall. Apple's near death in the 90's was in fact precipitated by this exact kind of hubris and pride - the mistaken belief that nobody can ever do anything better. It leads to complacency and to a failure to act to leverage new developments.
What I see here time and time again are people simply reacting without thoughtful analysis to things that emerge in the marketplace. So while I understand that the people who post here are interested in Apple, I don't think an automatic dismissal of every competitor, with accompanying derision, really reflects that interest: it reflects myopia.
The tech industry is quite complex and there are lots of interesting developments happening every day. And I think what Amazon has done here includes some very nifty technology that Apple and Google do not have an effective match for. Will that kill Apple tomorrow? Will the stock drop in value 85%. Clearly not; but it should be of interest to people who care about Apple. It should not result in instant mockery or denial, which is all to often the case here.
Orange county? doesn't Amazon have a software development wing located in Orange county California? which means you probably work there by the tone of your comments.
That's just an amazing, gigantic leap of an assumption. Aren't you even a little bit ashamed of that? You are illustrating exactly the myopia I'm talking about. Instead of wondering 'gee, maybe there is some actual good work in this Amazon phone thingy', you jump straight away to the notion that I must work for Amazon, and therefore my comments are gibberish and can be immediately discounted and ignored.
No I don't work for Amazon. But I am a developer and technologist, and i'm excited by technological developments. And I'm capable of appreciating them on their own merits, regardless of the particular brand that is stuck onto the finished products.
This little device actually has some very impressive technology inside it, and it is a shame so many of you can't recognize that.
Did they talk about privacy at all? It seems fine if you buy into the whole amazon ecosystem and spend a lot on amazon, as it seems like they are just making it easier for you to spend on amazon. I am looking forward to Yosemite, and IOS 8 and having that integration to a computer is kinda essential, not everything can be streamed always.
I don't like the way that many posters here simply automatically dismiss everything that happens in the tech industry if it wasn't built by Apple.
Yeah, they don’t do that.
And I know that many will argue that this perspective is unfounded and untrue. But I think an honest examination of the stuff people post here will reveal otherwise.
So actually examine it instead of pretending your ludicrous assumptions are true.
Why I mostly hate that kind of thing is pretty simple, really: It's hubris. And pride. And absolutely such things do ALWAYS precede a fall. Apple's near death in the 90's was in fact precipitated by this exact kind of hubris and pride - the mistaken belief that nobody can ever do anything better. It leads to complacency and to a failure to act to leverage new developments.
Amazon has a lot more than marketing muscle, it has big systems behind the phone. Music, video, audible, and enough programmers to get the basic apps, and Amazon's big old cloud.
People complained I didn't mention software or apps. Ok, look at the picture of the device: Facebook, twitter, Audible, Kindle App, maps, email, and calendar, an camera app. Those look like apps to me -- exactly the kind of apps that people use. Even Pinterest!
I'm very happy with my iPhone 5S -- I am DogCowabunga after all! -- but if Amazon can make these phones, and if they're not crappy, I think they will do very well with them, at least in North America and northern Europe.
Maybe not the prettiest phone, but if you use Amazon in any capacity, Firefly is one awesome app. 3-2-1 before Android has it or other developers have something similar on the app store. Truly great app.
How this dont come under the monopoly no-bundling laws ?
Amazon is using prime membership to make the phone attractive.
Bundling is the reason of the Microsoft antitrust trials and even if they dodged the US part mostly on good old lobbying and technicalities, this is still illegal in both USA and EU.
If they ever come in the EU, they will have to have a debundled option.
Sadly like every other Android powered device it will be crushed by the carpet bombing campaign of Samsung. Over the last two years HTC has made some of the best Android smartphones on the market with no traction at all. I'm not sure why Amazon thought this was a good idea.
How this dont come under the monopoly no-bundling laws ?
Amazon is using prime membership to make the phone attractive.
Bundling is the reason of the Microsoft antitrust trials and even if they dodged the US part mostly on good old lobbying and technicalities, this is still illegal in both USA and EU.
If they ever come in the EU, they will have to have a debundled option.
I see where you are coming from, but if Android and iOS are not going to go out of their way to sell Amazon products, and since Amazon is not a big player in the mobile phone business, I doubt there is meat there for that to stick.
But once big box retailers finally get tired of being eaten alive by Amazon, that may be a different story.
Not sure how much patience people will have for continually tilting and moving their phones/heads to achieve things, and if this is any more efficient or accurate than established methods for control (most likely less on both counts).
If it was eye-tracking, you could move a cursor around with your eyes, and if your gaze reached the bottom of the window, it would automatically scroll down. (Eye-scrolling video demo at 0:22: youtube/2q9DarPET0o?t=22s). That’s probably more natural than having to keep tilting.
Apple could have eye-tracking soon, which can be more accurate than face tracking. Apple filed an eye tracking patent that deals with something called Troxler fading:
>Apple Files Eye Tracking System with Advanced Gaze Controls
> “One result of this phenomenon is the perceived fading of a fixated stimulus when its retinal image is made stationary on the retina, which is otherwise known as a stabilized retinal image.”
>“Apple provides systems, methods, and devices that provide a user of a GUI with one or more measures to counteract a perceptual fading of a cursor with respect to the GUI.”
Steve Jobs mentioned the Gorilla arm ergonomic problem with vertical touchscreens. You have to suspend your arms horizontally, and your shoulders start to fatigue.
With eye-tracking, you could have a “touch-what-am-looking-at” button on a keyboard, and be able to work with a touch user interface on a vertical touchscreen.
[...]But what Amazon IS doing, and what they are doing quite well... is creating an incredibly sticky ecosystem that provides the same breadth and depth of offerings that Apple offers. And like Apple, they are doing so with an attention to detail and a consistency that objectively is not matched by the other players on the field (and by others, I mean Google and Microsoft).
[...] Bezos doesn't care if he sells 25 million phones this year. What he cares about is how many consumers entering his ecosystem end up leaving it. Because ultimately a consumer in Amazon's ecosystem translates directly into higher sales for Amazon.
What I'm surprised about is how few of the posters here really understand the game Bezos is playing. Bezos is not trying to best Apple. Bezos is trying to build an ecosystem to support essentially ongoing sales by owning lifetime consumption. And that sort of effort isn't rewarded all at once, and that sort of ecosystem is not built all at once. What Bezos is about is doing things consistently well, and about retaining and building momentum. And honestly, he has positioned Amazon very well to accomplish these goals.
And Apple is doing the same, at least in terms in owning 'the consumer interface to all markets.'
Both Apple and Amazon have a long view of the battle field that goes beyond 10Q statements. Their key to success is 'stickiness' For Apple, it's a compelling ecosystem that helps thinkers develop solutions. For amazon, it having your every desire a 'one click' purchase. If they can make a head gesture into a click and the market responds positively, they are proceding towards their goal.
Google is still throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks, as their core is to 'see what everyone does, and figure out how to make money off of it' MS is still trying to sell software, in a world where software is intangible. Tools that solve problems are tangible. procuring stuff, today, is a problem EVERYONE has. Devices optimized to procure are both sought by the buyers of products, and the sellers... they wanted to be in Walmart in the 90's, just as much as they wanted to be in Sears Roebuck in the 50's... a Fire is a always-on Sears Catalog.
Samsung is trying to sell devices using 'generic software,' and assuming great price, and enough marketing will make them viable in the market.
Not sure how much patience people will have for continually tilting and moving their phones/heads to achieve things, and if this is any more efficient or accurate than established methods for control (most likely less on both counts).
If it was eye-tracking, you could move a cursor around with your eyes, and if your gaze reached the bottom of the window, it would automatically scroll down. That’s probably more natural than having to keep tilting.
Apple could have eye-tracking soon, which can be more accurate than face tracking. Apple filed an eye tracking patent that deals with something called Troxler fading:
>Apple Files Eye Tracking System with Advanced Gaze Controls
> “One result of this phenomenon is the perceived fading of a fixated stimulus when its retinal image is made stationary on the retina, which is otherwise known as a stabilized retinal image.”
>“Apple provides systems, methods, and devices that provide a user of a GUI with one or more measures to counteract a perceptual fading of a cursor with respect to the GUI.”
Four infrared beams constantly pointed at my eyes?! No thanks. Do IT folks who come up with these great ideas ever consider safety? Even though infrared is in common use, it is NOT yet used in a device constantly aimed at one's eyes.
Comments
The 3D is most certainly a gimmick, unless they actually have meaningful content that leverages it (maps? games?).
I predict sales will be as flat as the HTC First, but Amazon will claim it's the highest selling phone on amazon.com (which there's no way of us tying to reality in any way as we won't get the numbers).
Amazon never releases their numbers, they just pretend like all their products are high-sellers and worthy of being compared to Apple, Samsung or Microsoft flagship products.
Only interesting points to me are they mayday feature and likely integration with PlayTime. Of course, I won't really know because I'm not going to buy one any time soon.
But you're missing the point. Most posters here are interested in Apple (this isn't eCommerceInsider, after all), so their/our reaction to this Amazon stuff is mostly about how it will effect Apple. There's nothing wrong with that. This is just another Android phone with Amazon's marketing muscle behind it.
Ok, listen this is my issue in all fairness: I don't like the way that many posters here simply automatically dismiss everything that happens in the tech industry if it wasn't built by Apple. And I know that many will argue that this perspective is unfounded and untrue. But I think an honest examination of the stuff people post here will reveal otherwise.
Why I mostly hate that kind of thing is pretty simple, really: It's hubris. And pride. And absolutely such things do ALWAYS precede a fall. Apple's near death in the 90's was in fact precipitated by this exact kind of hubris and pride - the mistaken belief that nobody can ever do anything better. It leads to complacency and to a failure to act to leverage new developments.
What I see here time and time again are people simply reacting without thoughtful analysis to things that emerge in the marketplace. So while I understand that the people who post here are interested in Apple, I don't think an automatic dismissal of every competitor, with accompanying derision, really reflects that interest: it reflects myopia.
The tech industry is quite complex and there are lots of interesting developments happening every day. And I think what Amazon has done here includes some very nifty technology that Apple and Google do not have an effective match for. Will that kill Apple tomorrow? Will the stock drop in value 85%. Clearly not; but it should be of interest to people who care about Apple. It should not result in instant mockery or denial, which is all to often the case here.
Orange county? doesn't Amazon have a software development wing located in Orange county California? which means you probably work there by the tone of your comments.
That's just an amazing, gigantic leap of an assumption. Aren't you even a little bit ashamed of that? You are illustrating exactly the myopia I'm talking about. Instead of wondering 'gee, maybe there is some actual good work in this Amazon phone thingy', you jump straight away to the notion that I must work for Amazon, and therefore my comments are gibberish and can be immediately discounted and ignored.
No I don't work for Amazon. But I am a developer and technologist, and i'm excited by technological developments. And I'm capable of appreciating them on their own merits, regardless of the particular brand that is stuck onto the finished products.
This little device actually has some very impressive technology inside it, and it is a shame so many of you can't recognize that.
Amazon has a private fork of Android. They have their own dev. program and their own App Store. It has about 240K apps at last count.
Doesn't sound awful. Nice to see a viable non-Google Android ecosystem.
Did they talk about privacy at all? It seems fine if you buy into the whole amazon ecosystem and spend a lot on amazon, as it seems like they are just making it easier for you to spend on amazon. I am looking forward to Yosemite, and IOS 8 and having that integration to a computer is kinda essential, not everything can be streamed always.
Yeah, they don’t do that.
So actually examine it instead of pretending your ludicrous assumptions are true.
Why I mostly hate that kind of thing is pretty simple, really: It's hubris. And pride. And absolutely such things do ALWAYS precede a fall. Apple's near death in the 90's was in fact precipitated by this exact kind of hubris and pride - the mistaken belief that nobody can ever do anything better. It leads to complacency and to a failure to act to leverage new developments.
Nice false concern.
Dude, you have a point! People are so critical!
Amazon has a lot more than marketing muscle, it has big systems behind the phone. Music, video, audible, and enough programmers to get the basic apps, and Amazon's big old cloud.
People complained I didn't mention software or apps. Ok, look at the picture of the device: Facebook, twitter, Audible, Kindle App, maps, email, and calendar, an camera app. Those look like apps to me -- exactly the kind of apps that people use. Even Pinterest!
I'm very happy with my iPhone 5S -- I am DogCowabunga after all! -- but if Amazon can make these phones, and if they're not crappy, I think they will do very well with them, at least in North America and northern Europe.
Maybe not the prettiest phone, but if you use Amazon in any capacity, Firefly is one awesome app. 3-2-1 before Android has it or other developers have something similar on the app store. Truly great app.
How this dont come under the monopoly no-bundling laws ?
Amazon is using prime membership to make the phone attractive.
Bundling is the reason of the Microsoft antitrust trials and even if they dodged the US part mostly on good old lobbying and technicalities, this is still illegal in both USA and EU.
If they ever come in the EU, they will have to have a debundled option.
Sadly like every other Android powered device it will be crushed by the carpet bombing campaign of Samsung. Over the last two years HTC has made some of the best Android smartphones on the market with no traction at all. I'm not sure why Amazon thought this was a good idea.
How this dont come under the monopoly no-bundling laws ?
Because it's Amazon.
Duh!
How this dont come under the monopoly no-bundling laws ?
Amazon is using prime membership to make the phone attractive.
Bundling is the reason of the Microsoft antitrust trials and even if they dodged the US part mostly on good old lobbying and technicalities, this is still illegal in both USA and EU.
If they ever come in the EU, they will have to have a debundled option.
I see where you are coming from, but if Android and iOS are not going to go out of their way to sell Amazon products, and since Amazon is not a big player in the mobile phone business, I doubt there is meat there for that to stick.
But once big box retailers finally get tired of being eaten alive by Amazon, that may be a different story.
Not sure how much patience people will have for continually tilting and moving their phones/heads to achieve things, and if this is any more efficient or accurate than established methods for control (most likely less on both counts).
If it was eye-tracking, you could move a cursor around with your eyes, and if your gaze reached the bottom of the window, it would automatically scroll down. (Eye-scrolling video demo at 0:22: youtube/2q9DarPET0o?t=22s). That’s probably more natural than having to keep tilting.
Apple could have eye-tracking soon, which can be more accurate than face tracking. Apple filed an eye tracking patent that deals with something called Troxler fading:
>Apple Files Eye Tracking System with Advanced Gaze Controls
> “One result of this phenomenon is the perceived fading of a fixated stimulus when its retinal image is made stationary on the retina, which is otherwise known as a stabilized retinal image.”
>“Apple provides systems, methods, and devices that provide a user of a GUI with one or more measures to counteract a perceptual fading of a cursor with respect to the GUI.”
patentlyapple/com/patently-apple/2013/10/apple-files-eye-tracking-system-with-advanced-gaze-controls.html
Steve Jobs mentioned the Gorilla arm ergonomic problem with vertical touchscreens. You have to suspend your arms horizontally, and your shoulders start to fatigue.
With eye-tracking, you could have a “touch-what-am-looking-at” button on a keyboard, and be able to work with a touch user interface on a vertical touchscreen.
[...]But what Amazon IS doing, and what they are doing quite well... is creating an incredibly sticky ecosystem that provides the same breadth and depth of offerings that Apple offers. And like Apple, they are doing so with an attention to detail and a consistency that objectively is not matched by the other players on the field (and by others, I mean Google and Microsoft).
[...] Bezos doesn't care if he sells 25 million phones this year. What he cares about is how many consumers entering his ecosystem end up leaving it. Because ultimately a consumer in Amazon's ecosystem translates directly into higher sales for Amazon.
What I'm surprised about is how few of the posters here really understand the game Bezos is playing. Bezos is not trying to best Apple. Bezos is trying to build an ecosystem to support essentially ongoing sales by owning lifetime consumption. And that sort of effort isn't rewarded all at once, and that sort of ecosystem is not built all at once. What Bezos is about is doing things consistently well, and about retaining and building momentum. And honestly, he has positioned Amazon very well to accomplish these goals.
And Apple is doing the same, at least in terms in owning 'the consumer interface to all markets.'
Both Apple and Amazon have a long view of the battle field that goes beyond 10Q statements. Their key to success is 'stickiness' For Apple, it's a compelling ecosystem that helps thinkers develop solutions. For amazon, it having your every desire a 'one click' purchase. If they can make a head gesture into a click and the market responds positively, they are proceding towards their goal.
Google is still throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks, as their core is to 'see what everyone does, and figure out how to make money off of it' MS is still trying to sell software, in a world where software is intangible. Tools that solve problems are tangible. procuring stuff, today, is a problem EVERYONE has. Devices optimized to procure are both sought by the buyers of products, and the sellers... they wanted to be in Walmart in the 90's, just as much as they wanted to be in Sears Roebuck in the 50's... a Fire is a always-on Sears Catalog.
Samsung is trying to sell devices using 'generic software,' and assuming great price, and enough marketing will make them viable in the market.
Not sure how much patience people will have for continually tilting and moving their phones/heads to achieve things, and if this is any more efficient or accurate than established methods for control (most likely less on both counts).
If it was eye-tracking, you could move a cursor around with your eyes, and if your gaze reached the bottom of the window, it would automatically scroll down. That’s probably more natural than having to keep tilting.
Apple could have eye-tracking soon, which can be more accurate than face tracking. Apple filed an eye tracking patent that deals with something called Troxler fading:
>Apple Files Eye Tracking System with Advanced Gaze Controls
> “One result of this phenomenon is the perceived fading of a fixated stimulus when its retinal image is made stationary on the retina, which is otherwise known as a stabilized retinal image.”
>“Apple provides systems, methods, and devices that provide a user of a GUI with one or more measures to counteract a perceptual fading of a cursor with respect to the GUI.”
patentlyapple/apple-files-eye-tracking-system-with-advanced-gaze-controls