Amazon is considering entering the smartphone market, according to several published reports. But when it’s all said and done, such a move would prove to be bad news.
Theres a lot of speculation, along with several published reports, that
Amazon is planning to enter the smartphone market. The online retail company will reportedly try to jump into the fray as early as this year to complement its current mobile offering, the Kindle Fire tablet. For its part, Amazon hasnt said what it might do with its future efforts in the mobile space and hasnt even confirmed that itll break into the smartphone market. But many analysts and industry observers believe its only a matter of time.
For Amazons sake, however, it shouldnt jump into the smartphone market. It might seem like a good place to be when one examines Apples success with its iPhone, but not every company is Apple. And as Amazon has learned in the tablet space, trying to match Apples products can be extremely difficult. At this point, it would be better for Amazon to stick with tablets, retail and cloud services, and leave smartphones to everyone else.
Heres a look at 10 different reasons Amazon should stay out of the smartphone market.
1. Price mattersbut not in the way you think
In the tablet market, Amazon was able to do well with a cheap device because a slate is a luxury product. A smartphone, however, has become a necessity nowadays. And with necessities comes a greater likelihood for customers to want to buy the best product out there. Whats more, that best productin many consumers minds, the iPhoneis quite cheap at $200 with a two-year contract. Simply put, in the smartphone space, undercutting other products on price doesnt really matter.
2. This isnt tablets
Amazon certainly understands tablets, and what it takes to be successful in that market. But the smartphone space is far more crowded and is governed by different rules. Amazon would need to play nice with carriers, attempt to have them promote its products as much as possible, and much, much more. Competing in smartphones is much different and far more difficult than in tablets.
3. Amazon isnt so high on design
Following that, its important to point out that when offering a cheaper device in the tablet space, consumers are willing to forgo high-quality design. Considering the smartphone space is much different, design will prove to be extremely important. Theres just one problem: Amazon has yet to show it truly understands high-quality design.
4. 4G LTE is a must
Since Amazon would ostensibly try to follow the same strategy in the smartphone space as it did in tablets, the company will have to leave some key features out. One of those could be 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE). What a mistake. Looking ahead, 4G LTE service will be a necessity for smartphones. Any device, like the Kindle Phone, that would lack such a feature would be in for serious trouble.
Email
Print
