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Amazon Fire Phone

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Re: Amazon Fire Phone

#171

Post by drcode »

georgemcbay wrote: post #156
drcode wrote: post #59

The compelling feature on this phone everyone's missing: Let's say you have to browse through a bunch of stuff on your phone. The very moment you start doing this, you have a problem: There's a #%&! finger covering up the screen now! The idea behind this phone is simple: All browsing of information is done by tilting the screen, leaving the display completely unobstructed... sure, other phones have tried to do this b…

Sorry to pile on here, but this is not a real problem for me and as someone who is 6'2" with hands to match, someone would seem to have to be really fat fingered for this to be an issue; plus tilt scrolling is worthless in one of the primary contexts I use my phone, which is mounted to my dashboard as a GPS/hands-free unit. I bought a Nexus 5 this year and kind of pre-regretted it because I thought I should wait to s…

I actually wouldn't buy the phone either: This phone is totally unappealing to a superuser, except for that one appealing feature.

Re: Amazon Fire Phone

#172

Post by jds375 »

revscat wrote: post #116
drcode wrote: post #59

The compelling feature on this phone everyone's missing: Let's say you have to browse through a bunch of stuff on your phone. The very moment you start doing this, you have a problem: There's a #%&! finger covering up the screen now! The idea behind this phone is simple: All browsing of information is done by tilting the screen, leaving the display completely unobstructed... sure, other phones have tried to do this b…

> There's a #%&! finger covering up the screen now! At which point I use the abductor pollicis brevis, adductor pollicis, etc. to do something quite amazing: I move my thumb out of the way. Alternatively, I can use the same muscles to scroll the screen to a point such that I can see any obstructed content. The benefit of this method is that I maintain my original viewing angle. I also have finer motor skills in my th…

It's not about your finger being in the way necessarily, it's about usability. Supppose I'm eating lunch. It would be nice to read an article with my phone in one hand and hold my sandwhich in the other. Or if I'm lying in bed just reading. It would be great to not have to keep scrolling the phone with my other hand. I'd rather my phone just do it for me.

Re: Amazon Fire Phone

#173

Post by JeremyNT »

So, essentially, a high end Android phone, only with Amazon's ecosystem rather than Google's.

As others have mentioned, the price seems to be difficult to swallow. They'll be fighting against Samsung's flagship Android device and the iPhone.

What sells the Amazon phone at that price? I don't think 3d tilting gimmicks will.

Its primary differentiator versus other Android phones is that Amazon controls the ecosystem for this device, rather than Google, and while that will appeal to some, it will be a negative for others, and a non-factor to many.

I think the price needs to drop for this to be a real competitor, but I certainly am glad to see Amazon entering the game even if the initial offering doesn't seem to be a home run. More competition against Samsung and Apple is good.

Re: Amazon Fire Phone

#174

Post by fiatmoney »

So who's the actual manufacturer? I had read at one point that Google has locked up most major cell manufacturers so they are prevented from offering handsets with non-Google-integrated Android. That and the somewhat lackluster screen leads me to believe it's a no-name OEM.

Re: Amazon Fire Phone

#176

Post by drcode »

Consultant32452 wrote: post #170
nostromo wrote: post #120

The market positioning here seems very un-Amazon. "Your margin is my opportunity" is probably my favorite Bezosism. Given that perspective and Apple's very cushy margins, I expected Amazon not to approach the market with an expensive phone packed with new features, but to approach the market from the bottom, with a good phone that is free or nearly free. The problem, of course, is that Google seems to have that segme…

This is interesting I think... iPad: Kindle Fire, Nexus 7 Apple TV: Kindle Fire TV, Chromecast iTunes: Amazon Prime Streaming TV + now music, Google Play iPhone: Kindle Fire Phone, Nexus 4 I think they're all playing for the same territory. The big difference seems to be that Apple really only sells the technology. Google sells the technology so that they can sell advertising for third party products. Amazon has the…

You make a good point:

   Apple: Sell at high price, modest tie-in revenue.
   Google: Sell at low price, modest tie-in revenue.
   Amazon: Sell at low price, high tie-in revenue.
It does seem like Amazon is bound to win in the long run, based on pure economics, if this trend continues.

Re: Amazon Fire Phone

#177

Post by IBM »

nostromo wrote: post #120

The market positioning here seems very un-Amazon. "Your margin is my opportunity" is probably my favorite Bezosism. Given that perspective and Apple's very cushy margins, I expected Amazon not to approach the market with an expensive phone packed with new features, but to approach the market from the bottom, with a good phone that is free or nearly free. The problem, of course, is that Google seems to have that segme…

I agree. At a pure product level this isn't competitive with an iPhone. It's exclusive to ATT and apparently only available in the US but still priced to compete with the iPhone. They should have done something with sponsored data or subsidized it heavily for Prime customers, but as it stands this isn't a compelling offering in the market.

Re: Amazon Fire Phone

#178

Post by gdilla »

nostromo wrote: post #120

The market positioning here seems very un-Amazon. "Your margin is my opportunity" is probably my favorite Bezosism. Given that perspective and Apple's very cushy margins, I expected Amazon not to approach the market with an expensive phone packed with new features, but to approach the market from the bottom, with a good phone that is free or nearly free. The problem, of course, is that Google seems to have that segme…

Then again, it could be more about software and services than just hardware. They've offered a competent competitor to high end smartphones to be sure, but they've also extended and bolstered the Amazon ecosystem with Firefly. I don't think it would share the same fate as Windows Phone, because it is still largely an Android phone and switching from samsung android to Fire won't be as costly. At the same time, it has some interesting features to compete with Apple as well. Windows Phone models never had that much differentiation, and on top of that. its metro UI was a big change for smartphone users that didn't gain traction.

Re: Amazon Fire Phone

#179

Post by Consultant32452 »

tolmasky wrote: post #119
Zelphyr wrote: post #69

Sounds like this phone does a good job of solving Amazon's problem of getting customers to buy more from them. I don't see how it makes my life any easier though. 3D? Ok, that is really cool. 2D hasn't really been a limiting factor for me though. One-handed navigation and autoscrolling? Wow, that just sounds terrible. I'm trying to read and my kid bumps my arm. Now where am I on the page? And how do I quickly get bac…

Perhaps my consumer lifestyle strangely aligns Amazon's incentives with mine, but I'm actually really happy how they solved the problem of me buying more stuff from them. It seems that they observed very common patterns people already use poorly and streamlined them. Case in point, almost everyone I know takes pictures of books and items they want to buy or investigate further later. Currently this 1) clutters my Pho…

Google Goggles was always able to look at pictures of all sorts of things and provide you with more information about them, including but not limited to UPC codes, books, etc. The rub lies in the fact that Google wouldn't actually sell those third part products but Amazon more than likely does.

I agree with you entirely on X-Ray. I don't have any Fire products personally but that's clearly a missing integration on the competing devices.

Re: Amazon Fire Phone

#180

Post by jrub »

Maybe someone can enlighten me; but why does AT&T seem like a popular launch partner with new mobile handsets?

The only reasons I can come up with are a) money (AT&T taking a smaller cut of subsidies/paying the manufacturer more for the device) and b) "portability" between the US provider and International providers.

Are there any other reasons? Or is it really that simple?

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