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Amazon has no idea how to run an app store

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Re: Amazon has no idea how to run an app store

#41

Post by cmdrfred »

jc4p wrote: post #37
eli wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are assuming that the only purpose of certification is to catch actively malicious developers. I can think of many other perfectly good reasons to have one: to make sure server response times are fast enough, to make sure it fits the guidelines for types of content they want in their ecosystem, to make sure it doesn't blatantly violate any trademarks, etc. I don't think the concept of a certification process is t…

You're definitely right that we don't actually know what checks they're prioritizing, but it's hard for me to believe they're actually doing any quality checking when this is the #1 skill you see in the app: http://i.imgur.com/Qp4Cv6k.png

Most accurate software company name ever.

Re: Amazon has no idea how to run an app store

#42

Post by melted »

No one has any idea how to run an App Store. Even Apple's App Store is vastly inadequate to sell the gigantic number of apps available on it. Top N apps make out like bandits, everyone else is basically dying. It will always be power law, but IMO the tail could extend quite a bit further than it does today.

Re: Amazon has no idea how to run an app store

#43

Post by finnn »

therein wrote: post #30
aschampion wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My worst experience with Amazon yet is they've locked the Amazon video Android app from every Android TV device except a few select smart TV vendors and their own Fire TV devices. The result is I can't watch content I paid them for (and would continue paying for) on a device I bought through Amazon (Shield TV). They're treating lackluster Fire devices, which were supposed to be loss leaders to get you into their ecos…

I agree with all of your points except for 2-day delivery becoming unreliable. I don't know where you live but they are still great, if not constantly improving in the Bay Area. Lately whenever I choose 2-day delivery, I end up getting it the next day.

Seattle (eastside) here. I frequently order things with "two day shipping" and it tells me right up front that "two day" shipping will have it here in > 2 days.

Re: Amazon has no idea how to run an app store

#44

Post by JustSomeNobody »

therein wrote: post #30
aschampion wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My worst experience with Amazon yet is they've locked the Amazon video Android app from every Android TV device except a few select smart TV vendors and their own Fire TV devices. The result is I can't watch content I paid them for (and would continue paying for) on a device I bought through Amazon (Shield TV). They're treating lackluster Fire devices, which were supposed to be loss leaders to get you into their ecos…

I agree with all of your points except for 2-day delivery becoming unreliable. I don't know where you live but they are still great, if not constantly improving in the Bay Area. Lately whenever I choose 2-day delivery, I end up getting it the next day.

Yeah, shipping is still one of their strengths. Never have issues with it, myself.

Re: Amazon has no idea how to run an app store

#46

Post by notlisted »

I have an echo. I like it, but the skills store is awful for the consumer too. Too many silly apps (like the current #1 listing a fart app referenced below), and the app features a skills list, but no categorization, no option to filter apps by stars so unknown gems can be discovered, no stats on installs, no rating distribution graphs. All very strange.

Worse still, there's no standard vocabulary to interact with skills and the flexibility of the wording depends on the developer. You need to mention the app, which can have weird long names (e.g. Agog Reader) or near-duplicate names (e.g. three bitcoin apps).

All-in-all, the skills feature (and the skills store) feels like an after-thought.

Re: Amazon has no idea how to run an app store

#47

Post by Dylan16807 »

rdtsc wrote: post #40

Or Amazon video on Android device I have -- in order to have play prime videos it told me to disable app source checking and side-load some .apk file, which will then help me get the Amazon video apk file... or something. Yeah forget that. At first I thought it was a joke of some sort. But I guess that's how you are supposed to do it. I'll just stick to Netflix and watch videos there. Somehow that manages to work wit…

"some .apk file" being the Amazon store. It's annoying but it's not nonsense. The store will then notify you about updates and perform them.

It's half google's fault for not allowing the amazon store app to be listen in Play.

Re: Amazon has no idea how to run an app store

#49

Post by meesterdude »

Not surprised by this at all.

>However, the Amazon system is so broken that it potentially offers a fix for itself. When the Certification Team rejects your app, you don’t need to change the app. You do not need to respond to their requests. You do not need to make any of the changes that they demand. Since a new person reviews each submission, and since there is no limit on submissions, one way to get through the certification process is to simply roll the dice and spam the certification team. Submit an app 10 times, or 20 times, or 30 times. At some point you will probably get lucky, and someone will approve your app.

Amazon has clearly put a lot of thought into how this is going to work.

They also have no idea how to run a video streaming service; or they think they do, and just don't know how much it sucks. They also have started sucking in buying things, with things like "pantry" which require you to buy a box for $5 so you can get things like soap.

I canceled my prime and have been buying things from stores. I buy my videos (ala DVD) so I can watch them when i want and not be worried about them getting pulled by disney from the "prime" section and being forced to buy it.

Honestly, the only thing I have any respect for is AWS. But even that is severely lacking in polish in clarity, and it's almost a full time job trying to keep up with their additions and changes.

Re: Amazon has no idea how to run an app store

#50

Post by cwyers »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #47
rdtsc wrote: post #40

Or Amazon video on Android device I have -- in order to have play prime videos it told me to disable app source checking and side-load some .apk file, which will then help me get the Amazon video apk file... or something. Yeah forget that. At first I thought it was a joke of some sort. But I guess that's how you are supposed to do it. I'll just stick to Netflix and watch videos there. Somehow that manages to work wit…

"some .apk file" being the Amazon store. It's annoying but it's not nonsense. The store will then notify you about updates and perform them. It's half google's fault for not allowing the amazon store app to be listen in Play.

Why is that Google's fault? Amazon could use the Play Store to update the app, the same way that Netflix, Hulu, etc. does. Amazon doesn't want to because they want people to use their own Android platform. Except their Android platform is awful. They have no idea how to run a store (which is a hell of a liability for an ecommerce company, but their infrastructure and fulfillment processes are so top notch and their margins so small that everyone just routes around it when it comes to buying books or whatever else). They make regular Android OEMs look prompt in how long it takes them to incorporate updates.
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