Amazon Fire: Here's The Rub - InformationWeek

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Comments
Amazon Fire: Here's The Rub
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Brian.Dean
50%
50%
Brian.Dean,
 User Rank: Ninja
6/23/2014 | 8:41:19 AM
Re: Agree?
I agree the benefits that Amazon is aiming towards, could easily be gained by an app. I like the idea of database of coded objects, but only if the database can reach a scale that it becomes useful for purchases of highly technical objects/products.

For instance, today if a consumer owns a S4 and becomes interested in a S5. A consumer can go to a search engine and compare the two, read a few reviews, specification and decide. But all this requires a point of reference or first-hand product experience, or at least identifying a product's name/model. A database can help in the identification process, but 100 million objects is not a huge figure, considering that just the internet is expected to communicate with 50 billion objects by 2020. Imagine all the products that already exist.
ANewNickname
50%
50%
ANewNickname,
 User Rank: Strategist
6/20/2014 | 6:50:50 PM
Re: Self-serving to a fault
I wouldn't mind so much if the apps were critical to basic phone functions. But when they're solely to harass you to buy extra services, or (in Google's case) even to foist unwanted services on you for free, I'd rather have the opportunity to choose those functions in the marketplace.
Laurianne
100%
0%
Laurianne,
 User Rank: Author
6/20/2014 | 11:58:52 AM
Re: Self-serving to a fault
You'd think phone makers would learn from the pre-loaded PC clutter -- aka crapplications -- that users came to hate. if you're going to load them, please make them easy to delete.
Shane M. O'Neill
50%
50%
Shane M. O'Neill,
 User Rank: Author
6/20/2014 | 10:20:55 AM
Re: Self-serving to a fault
I hear ya. Non-removable default apps are annoying. I just got a Galaxy S5 and there are Verizon apps on there, only one of which - My Verizon Mobile - is actually helpful. The others are just clutter. But that doesn't seem like enough of a reason to return the phone. Mine didn't come with any Samsung bloatware that I can see.
ANewNickname
50%
50%
ANewNickname,
 User Rank: Strategist
6/20/2014 | 10:02:05 AM
Re: Self-serving to a fault
This phone takes unwanted, non-removable software cluttering up your phone to new heights. I'm returning my new Galaxy S5 for the same reason. Looking for a phone that does what I want, not what the manufacturer(s) and carrier want.
Shane M. O'Neill
50%
50%
Shane M. O'Neill,
 User Rank: Author
6/19/2014 | 6:38:28 PM
Re: Agree?
Yes, an advanced Amazon app would serve customer needs. An entire phone is overkill. But not for Bezos, as the story says. He clearly got tired of renting an apartment in a building owned by Apple, Google, or Samsung, when he could buy his own building.
Shane M. O'Neill
50%
50%
Shane M. O'Neill,
 User Rank: Author
6/19/2014 | 6:15:05 PM
Self-serving to a fault
She makes a good point. The Fire Phone features are cool but they feel like window dressing, added to distract you from how truly self-serving the phone is. I want to like it, but I get an icky feeling. It feels like Wal-Mart released a phone. 
Laurianne
50%
50%
Laurianne,
 User Rank: Author
6/19/2014 | 3:40:38 PM
Agree?
Who agrees with Junko that Amazon should have done an app, not a phone?


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