Amazon Launches Smartphone, a Selling Platform

by: Ed Gadfly

Amazon does not seem like a trustworthy company. I know AT&T rolled over and let the NSA tune right in.

Amazon took the 1984 book back. Trust them with all my information and the information of all the people I deal with...

uh, No.

by: Philip Cohen

"I am going to buy a whole lot more things with this technology than I ever have before."

Yeah, give us another advertorial, Greg ...

by: Mimi

I'm afraid Amazon has just released a giant bomb. The comments on various forums are less than kind. One of the main ''oops'' is tying it to AT&T, known to be one of the worst carriers. I'm afraid this was not one of Bezo's best ideas. Time will tell, but I think Amazon is very late to the smart phone party.

by: Rexford

"the nation's most reliable 4G LTE network"....which has just suffered a data breach this week compromising the personal information of an undisclosed number of wireless customers.

I agree with an above poster....a little late for the smart phone party.

by: Eric Saeger

@Philip:  I feel ya.  Sycophantic writers like Bensinger could switch right over to writing Hunger Games box scores after the revolution happens.

by: Ming the Merciless

Return rates will continue to escalate as more buyers use smart phones to buy and refuse to read descriptions.

Stricter return policies will be the only way to curb bad buyer behavior.

However, the basic problem remains.

The smart phones are smarter than many of their users!

by: Puck

This thing has Zero written all over it.

by: E-pins

Amazon could have done better, like it's excellent feature loaded affordable tablets, but did an Ebay instead.

5 Reasons You Don’t Want the Amazon Fire Phone
blog.laptopmag.com/reasons-to-avoid-amazon-fire-phone
"Fir
e's hardware and software are designed to get you to spend more money (on Prime and everything else Amazon sells) rather than to work or communicate more effectively"

Who in their right mind would buy Amazon’s Fire Phone?
www.extremetech.com/computing/184811-who-in-their-right-mind
-would-buy-amazons-fire-phone
"What I don’t get is why Amazon went down such a conventional, profit-gouging route with the Fire Phone. After years of selling cheap tablets – presumably to make money back on the sale of Prime, e-books, and other media — Amazon has surprised us all with a conventional, 50%-profit-margin smartphone. Does Amazon really think that a $200-on-contract/$750-off-contract Fire Phone is an enticing proposition? With its middling tech specs and unproven ecosystem, I think a lot of people would’ve been much more comfortable if the Fire Phone was instead priced like the Fire tablets — or heck, like the Nexus 5 smartphone ($350-400, off-contract)"

Pity.

by: LightWing

Ming wrote:

''Return rates will continue to escalate as more buyers use smart phones to buy and refuse to read descriptions.  Stricter return policies will be the only way to curb bad buyer behavior.''

MING nails the downside to Sellers who experience the whimsy of moronic buyers zipping thru the ''DumbNails'' (tm) on a 3-4'' viewing platform. Even when text is in a pic they STILL blow it.

Ebay' solution? Push MORE sellers into Mobile, force 90 days Returns to get Crumblette Discounts and then issue ''Defects'' to those who comply.

Insanity.

You just can't make this stuff up.