“Amazon.com is reportedly considering building prototypes of gadgets other than its Kindle e-reader. But one analyst questioned the value of such devices unless they can be tied to Amazon-provided services and content,” Matt Hamblen reports for Computerworld.
“A New York Times blogger, citing unnamed sources Wednesday, said Amazon engineers in its Lab 126 are ‘looking into building other gadgets [than Kindle] that it could sell to consumers,'” Hamblen reports. “The kinds of gadgets Amazon is considering could be music or movie players or a mobile phone that could compete with Apple’s iPhone or Android phones backed by Google.”
MacDailyNews Take: Define “compete” and does it involve trumpeting “best-ever sales,” while never actually stating unit sales figures?
Hamblen continues, “One analyst, Jack Gold of J. Gold Associates, said Amazon should be careful with new hardware ventures, unless it can tie the devices directly to content or services. ‘If Amazon gets into a gadget market, what is the value-add they offer [over competitors]?’ Gold asked. ‘What service can they sell that purchasers of the device will buy? What would be the goal of Amazon’s making gadgets?'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Answers: There is none. Redundant ones. Spotlight bad management decisions.
OMG. Analysts are starting to smarten up!
MDN & many of it’s readers seem to be free market types, yet dismiss any attempt by anyone even rumored to be competing with Apple. Go me that seems strange.
Competition strengthens all players, gives consumers choices, encourages innovation and creates jobs. I do not for the life of me see what is wrong with that.
I am pretty sure that Apple has not hired every talented and visionary engineer, developer and designer.
@ Does Not Compute,
Do you honestly think it is a sound business practice to start, in this day and age, to build from scratch, a better iPod?
The analyst says unless they are tied to all you can eat movies and music at less than $10 a month, you’re nuts.
We agree.
What’s wrong with that?
Amazons biggest selling point so far has been price. Not unlike Dell, except Amazon doesn’t have to build anything to compete, just bigger warehouses. The stuff Amazon does build aren’t half bad. I’m talking about their cloud services, but it doesn’t have enough products there and the integration strategy to dominate yet.
MDN don’t dismiss out of hand a company doing research & development. Amazon is stupid to not at least investigate this, but research a topic does not mean that a product will come to market unless a good business case be made for it.
Lemmie guess, they will immediately rise to the top of their own bestseller lists.
A foolish move.
Amazon can spend their R&D budget however they choose. But, from a business standpoint, it would be prudent for Amazon to focus on opportunities that offer significant potential upside and mesh with a long term business strategy. That is what Apple has done very successfully over the past decade, and what sets them apart from nearly everyone else (particularly in consumer electronics).
Wow the trailblazing brilliance! Nobody is already making such devices.
Seriously, one of the most spectacular moves ever made by Steve Jobs was to eliminate R&D for any project without clear profit potential, which is why so very few Apple projects have disappointed.
@ m159
Oh, isn’t that just what Ballmer has been doing?
“Amazon may be considering building media players or mobile phone”
In black & white not doubt.
‘Does Not Compute’ sez: “MDN & many of it’s readers seem to be free market types, yet dismiss any attempt by anyone even rumored to be competing with Apple.”
In the end, all serious commentary about competitors and potential competitors is itself part of competition.
What isn’t competition is propaganda, FUD, deceit, hate, abuse, trolling, etc. That garbage is merely desperation. Examples: FuxNews, the Neo-Con-Job, the Rupert Murdoch Regime, ad nauseam.
If you can’t compete, cheat.
They might market them as part of their “AmazonBasics” line. Good basic functionality with strong customer service at a low price. But why bother?
Why is Amazon is doing this?