Everybody ’s talking about Amazon retaliating against the iPad with amultitouch , multimedia , app - heavy Kindle 3 . But it ’s not as obvious a move as you imagine . In fact , it ’s a bad idea .
As I guide out yesterday , Amazon is going to do well by the iPad — and deal of other platforms — as long as they keep their software developers pumped up on wise water and amphetamine . Why does anyone build up their own hardware , but out of fear of getting shut out by the competition ? Lord knows Apple can be a clump of dicks , but it ’s let Amazon grow , even while it set in motion its own competing book political platform . So should Amazon focus on software and content for everyone , or spend millions tobuild its own competing proprietary hardware ? You know my result ; here ’s why I ’m right :
https://gizmodo.com/the-ipad-amazons-secret-weapon-5510620
1 . What operating system is it going to run ? Kindle OS , whatever that is ? Just ask Palm how well even a good quaternary - company OS can do nowadays . And they ’re Palm . Amazon does n’t know doodly-squat about building a real data processor chopine . Android ? Most logical , except that Google and Amazon have contradictory record - publishing agendas . Whatever Amazon select , will they show preference to that platform over iPhone and the others ? And would n’t it then be competing alongside strong traditional hardware builders ? Beating Sony and a bunch of inauguration in the e - ink business is easy ; taking on HTC , Samsung , LG and Motorola all at once is a little hard .
2 . If it does everything , what will make it a Kindle ? Yesterday , I argued that e - ink is a selection people make because it is gentle on the center . Amen . And the best option is Amazon ’s . Great . Let ’s keep that in the mixture . But if Amazon ’s flagship resembles the iPad in every way , consumers wo n’t see its benefits . What will make it a Kindle ?
3 . Who ’s plump to bear for the wireless help ? One key welfare of Kindles is that you do n’t give for the 3 G used to give up books and news clippings . But if the thing gets a color screenland , a grown - up internet browser and a video player , you could be someone besides Amazon is gon na hoof the banker’s bill . ( Hint : It will be you , for $ 30 a month or more . )
4 . What medium will it offer ? Amazon has a lot of relationships , but they do n’t exactly have their turn together on the media side . The music store is fine , but it ’s DRM - free like all the others , so you ca n’t apply it to incentivize a hardware product . Amazon Video on Demand is something we like to see in a Blu - irradiation player , but I do n’t know anyone who swears by it . It ’s sure not part of the holy tierce of Netflix , Hulu and Vudu .
5 . How will Amazon lure app developers from Apple , Google and Microsoft ? Hate to trounce a dead horse , but Palm ca n’t get its app act together , so how can Amazon ? Apple , Google and Microsoft are only going to bunk the developer drum louder and louder , and VCs are help by raising serious money to back anyone with a estimable enough thought . Like game console , you will probably see more and more undivided app deal . None of this should spell optimism to a belated entrance with no experience .
One final thought : Apple is being nice to Amazon now , but if it perceives Amazon as a scourge , how quickly will Steve Jobs turn off Amazon ’s App Store spigot ? If you answer “ pretty darn , ” you ’re correct . Do I condone this kind of thuggery ? No . But tell me that ’s not how it would go down , and I ’ll laugh in your face .
Amazon : Please pump money into building and refining Kindle apps for every political platform you could . And by all means keep churning out e - ink reader . There ’s a niche for them , and you are good at it . A cheaper tocopherol - ink Kindle and a honest iPad app are your samara for continued success , and you recognize it .
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