The Fire phone won’t be hot when it launched.

 

 

Now, Amazon just revealed to us the Fire phone today, yes! I mean, it has been more than a year since the first time we heard about Amazon was building a phone (which Bezos denied by the way, LIAR!). Is it a good phone? Maybe, maybe not, I have not used it yet, so I can’t be the judge of that. What I will say is this, although the phone called Fire, it will not sell like hot cake at the store, or even successful, for that matter, and here is why.

Here is a thing, Amazon has created a great piece of hardware with the Kindle. Why is that? Well, it is amazing how with a very cheap price, you can get a reliable tablet, that is perfect for a little bit of gaming, reading news, books, etc…, and maybe even send a quick email, it’s perfectly capable of all of that, for what, less than $310 for the 32GB 7-inch model. SO what is the whole idea, you do not need to pay much for a reliable experience. In fact, that is the ads that the Kindle has been used by comparing itself with the iPad.

 

Now, why is it important, well, that is pretty much the reason why people even buy the Kindle. Because it’s cheap, and how much the Fire cost, $650, and what exchange is you get a replacement for an Android phone that is not replaceable to your old Android phone. Here is why, Fire OS is not Android, it’s built on Android architecture. The rest is all different launchers. Means that what ever you invested in your Android phone will not be transferred to your Android but not Android phone. So, what Amazon is asking you to do is give up whatever you have. If you purchased an app in the PlayStore, you have to purchase it again.

 

What I can’t wrap my head around is, with some heavy players around, like iOS and Android, who have almost a million of apps, or more in iOS case, why would it want to dip itself into a battle that it’s most likely going to lose. People are too invested in their Eco system, and although the whole 3D image thing is quite impressive, it is a gimmick, which frankly, not too many people willing to give up for.

You know what, let’s move away from gimmick and price and OS and just pretty much mentioned above, sit back and think for a second here, what value would it bring to you? Now, obviously if you are a Prime member, there are plenty of value. I mean, one free month of Prime is pretty sweet, and a few taps away from buying the stuff you want, it is great, especially with Firefly. And what about “dimension perspective.” Even if it’s a gimmick, it is still a new technology, and it brings some value to the phone. I mean, how often can you see all the side of a picture right? Well, John Legere was right, Amazon ruined it.

Bottom line

Do I think the phone will succeed? Well, my point is clear. But do I think can they fix it? Sure they can, price point, availability, it is all fixable, after a few months, they can make it available everywhere. And I believe that no technology is a gimmick, but how it executes make it a gimmick. Is the Duo lens on HTC a gimmick? Yes, why? Because they put that in without improving the camera itself. Why is OIS not a gimmick? Because it improves the camera experience in a whole. Exclusivity, never help, I know, I know, they got to get money somehow, but focus too much on money-making, and you will miss the whole point.

But really, you really should buy one and try it out.

Images provided by Amazon and AT&T