As expected, Amazon introduced their first smartphone. [now available: also seeFive Ways Amazon Could Have Made The Fire Phone Hot]
Anticipation
Amazon got free publicity from the speculation about the long-expected phone. This also increased expectations. A so-so smartphone wouldn't do without meaningful differences.
Related: Why would Amazon want to sell a smartphone (Harvard Business Review)
Innovation
Today's smartphones are quite good. They have nice screens, quick processors, good cameras and reasonable battery capacity. Changes are incremental. Unless you're a lineup-the-night-before gadget freak, the reasons to upgrade before your mobile contract ends aren't very compelling.
What could Amazon do? They developed a competent smartphone at a reasonable price. They made improvements in other areas such as
- magnetic tangle-free headphone cords (though music lovers may prefer to buy their own premium headphones)
- dual-stereo speakers (though external speakers are likely better)
- Mayday 15 second 24/7 customer service response times (though wouldn't you prefer a product that doesn't need support?)
- Firefly for product identification and quick purchase from Amazon (this may be the real reason for the phone)
- Unlimited photo storage (which Google+ also offers up to 2048px)
- A free year of Prime (an inducement to spend even more at Amazon)
- A button for the camera that works even when the screen is off (nice!)
You'll find more details on The Next Web and other sites.
Two Catches
1. Amazon is a company which breaks rules but not this time. The phone is only available on AT&T and requires a two year contract. How odd. That restriction reduces their reach. Amazon could have launched an unlocked phone which works on the major networks.
2. Videos get uploaded automatically but as the screen print below shows, you don't get unlimited storage as you do for photos. In contrast, Google+ allows free uploads up to 15 minutes long. You can't turn Amazon's video upload "feature" off. It stops when all your cloud storage is used up. That means you have no space for anything else unless you spend time deleting files or money buying more storage. Since storage space is cheap and keeps getting cheaper, the restriction is puzzling.
Verdict
Amazon has announced a phone with enough differences to stand out. I see no compelling reason to buy one but you may.
Actuary Promod Sharma helps the public understand insurance and bridge gaps in their coverage at the Taxevity Insurance Advisory. There's no premium for peace of mind. How healthy is your insurance?
You'll find more original content at promod.pressly.com
Post A Comment:
0 comments: