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Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

bloomberg.com

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Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#341

Post by bsder »

hrayr wrote: post #329
Artistry121 wrote: post #5

I don't think this move is in Amazon's best interests long term. Their competitive edge with Prime is that I go to them first because I assume they'll have what I want, at a fair price and the highest level of convenience. If they are no longer the "Everything Store" then they won't be where I go to for everything...

I had a long held belief that Amazon is a principled and trust worthy company... sadly that vision is crumbling before my eyes.

Um, no offense, why?

They crushed all the technical bookstores because they didn't have to pay sales tax. Their customer service beyond cheap refunds is abysmal. They understand how hard it is to distinguish between stuff that is only serviced through them, but choose not to fix it. And Bezos is famous for being both an asshole and micromanager.

One-stop? Sure. Efficient? Maybe. Trustworthy? Pardon me for laughing.

Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#342

Post by Spivak »

MichaelGG wrote: post #167
ericfrederich wrote: post #26

Amazon and Google are both ruining Android. Amazon for apps that arbitrarily only work on their hardware is awful, forcing customers to buy multiple devices (no Amazon Video on the Nexus Player). Google for not making the play store installable on non-Google approved hardware. At least the Amazon app store is made available as a download from Amazon even if Amazon Video won't work on your device.

You've got it backwards on Google Play. If Google had taken a bit of a stronger arm in the beginning, we wouldn't have the fragmentation and shitty experience (Huawei's crap UI, Samsung's crap UI, etc.) that we have today. Google's slowly trying to clean it up, and perhaps the few-restrictions early play was a Trojan Horse. But opening Android up now would certainly be a mistake as it'd only further encourage OEMs to…

Look, if you want an iPhone, just buy one. You're describing their business model exactly.

Having a walled garden is great up until the point they start making decisions you don't like. And usually by that point you don't have any control to stop them.

Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#343

Post by yohui »

azakai wrote: post #297
yohui wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are we referring to the same article? The Android Police article linked above reports that Amazon blocked users who tried to run the app on non-Sony TVs: > But now it doesn't work. "License Error" codes have started showing up when running the Instant Video app on the Nexus Player, presumably because someone at Amazon saw that it was running on non-blessed hardware and shut it down.

I meant the original article this entire discussion is about, which says > Amazon’s streaming service, called Prime Video, doesn’t run easily on its rival’s hardware. So it does run, at least according to the article. But it's either hard to make it run, or it doesn't work well. Both of those seem to contradict your link. Very puzzling, I guess one of those must be wrong?

Assuming Bloomberg didn't just fudge the phrasing, they were probably referring to how Amazon Video requires the Amazon Appstore to be installed first: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/splash/sd/t/appstore

There are no technical or legal barriers preventing Amazon from supporting iOS and Android devices.

Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#344

Post by azakai »

yohui wrote: post #343
azakai wrote: post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I meant the original article this entire discussion is about, which says > Amazon’s streaming service, called Prime Video, doesn’t run easily on its rival’s hardware. So it does run, at least according to the article. But it's either hard to make it run, or it doesn't work well. Both of those seem to contradict your link. Very puzzling, I guess one of those must be wrong?

Assuming Bloomberg didn't just fudge the phrasing, they were probably referring to how Amazon Video requires the Amazon Appstore to be installed first: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/splash/sd/t/appstore There are no technical or legal barriers preventing Amazon from supporting iOS and Android devices.

Ok, thanks, I was confused by how they phrased it.

Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#345

Post by kale »

sandGorgon wrote: post #89
RIMR wrote: post #33

Well, if I needed a reason not to buy a Fire Stick, here it is. If you can't sell your product without striking down competitor's products, than clearly your competitors have a better product.

Does anyone here have a Kindle Fire Stick? It seems to already have dual band, has double the memory/ghz of a chromecast and most importantly - does not need a phone or computer to work. It comes with an independent remote control and built in apps to run. Plus, it already has Spotify. I'm wondering why you would get the Chromecast over the Fire Stick.

I have both. The Fire Stick Audio cuts out every other day and the stick has to be reset. It forgot my login once and had to be factory reset. It has yet to play a video without some stuttering/frame drops/minor audio-video sync.

And as for practical reasons: I use my Chromecast when the kids run away with the FireTV remote. It's more convienent to use a phone or tablet than it is to find the remote.

Finally, On my TV at the far side of my house, which is not that far, the FireTV can't see my WiFi. I have my AP mounted in the ceiling (POE cable to my switch), with one wall partially between the AP and the TV. Chromecast connects just fine, the FireTV stick does not.

In my experience, Chromecast is a much better product than the FireTV stick.

Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#346

Post by igorgue »

Amazon, don't buy the hand that feeds you. If Google or Apple do something like that against you, you're done.

We on the other hand have many many many many many other places to buy stuff online... Too many if anything. Amazon is my favorite but I wouldn't sweat it to buy elsewhere.

Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#347

Post by sudoherethere »

AaronFriel wrote: post #127

Cancel your Amazon Prime, send a signal to Amazon. There are plenty of retailers with expedited shipping options now, and I've long preferred say, Newegg, over Amazon for technology products. I'm canceling my Prime. I don't even own a Chromecast, or any iOS devices, but I'm not going to support a company throwing its weight around in this abusive manner, even if it's entirely legal. (It is not without irony that I wr…

I will not renew my Prime membership unless this decision is reversed. Though canceling would send a stronger signal.

Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#348

Post by rodgerd »

Artistry121 wrote: post #5

I don't think this move is in Amazon's best interests long term. Their competitive edge with Prime is that I go to them first because I assume they'll have what I want, at a fair price and the highest level of convenience. If they are no longer the "Everything Store" then they won't be where I go to for everything...

> I don't think this move is in Amazon's best interests long term.

Who cares if it's in their interests? Given the power they wield, the more relevant question is whether it's in the interest of the broader market.

Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#349

Post by mmebane »

Spoom wrote: post #222
VikingCoder wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...I had Prime Video working on my Android phone a while back, but it no longer works. Is there a new, new way to get it to work that I don't know about?

Install the Amazon app, but not the Amazon app from Google Play, the sideloaded one directly from their site, and then do a bunch of convoluted stuff to install the Prime Video player within that app.

It's been a couple of weeks since I did it, but I got it working on my nVidia Shield TV, and I remember the process being something like:

1) Sideload Amazon app APK 2) Sideload Amazon Video app APK 3) Open Amazon app and log in 4) Open Amazon Video app

However, it wasn't a pleasant experience. The version of the Amazon Video app I was able to get working didn't scale well to large screens, didn't work well with remote-based navigation, and didn't seem to do HD. I watched one episode of something, and haven't used it again since.

Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#350

Post by coliveira »

I think they are just attracting bad publicity with this. I don't know about Google's product, but when I want an Apple product I always go directly to the Apple store. So the fact that they don't carry Apple TV makes no difference whatsoever in my desire to buy an Apple TV.
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