Dear Internet Companies, Stop Making Smartphones
The Fire Phone is Probably DOA
As a known fiend for innovation and always on the lookout for that “something new” with major product releases, today’s Amazon announcement set off an internal struggle. On one hand, the Fire Phone is certainly less yawn-inducing than the Galaxy S5 and the iPhone 5s and comes packed with features that sound phenomenal on paper. I mean, four low power cameras that simulate a 3D effect?! Sweet. But on the other hand, I know in my heart that it’s dead on arrival. Why?
It’s a mid-range phone at a flagship price
For a company that has always priced its Kindle Fire tablets and e-readers competitively and relied on “making up the difference” with consumers buying and renting media content, $199 on-contract for a phone with a 720p screen is shocking to say the least. I would have expected something at half this price. While iOS users couldn’t care less usually, Android buyers tend to want more “bang for their buck.” and therefore mediocre specs is a no-no.
No one wants 3D or Parallax
The idea of 3D sounds great on paper, but users have time and time again shown that they could care less for this feature. So naturally, Amazon responds by making it one of its biggest selling points. Remember the HTC Evo 3D? Remember the whole iOS7 parallax effect thing that most people turn off? This disregard for 3D has even been seen amongst television manufacturers. In fact, Vizio has dropped 3D altogether from its next-generation lineup and is instead focusing on color reproduction and 4k. Let’s face it: users want a pretty looking, crisp screen and nothing else.
It’s too late
Much like the government of the United States, the smartphone game at this point is a two-party race: Apple and Samsung. This has become evident with news of HTC’s financial struggles despite releasing the most exciting and well-constructed Android phone in the world (HTC One M8). Even the phone that all the tech geeks love — the OnePlus One — is getting delayed like crazy. If Microsoft and all of its resources can’t push Windows Phone past a 5% ownership rate in four years, I doubt Amazon will be making many sequels to the Fire Phone.
Facebook tried this already and failed miserably
Facebook also made the mistake of thinking that it could make a smartphone and look what happened? Heck they even signed the same exclusivity deal with AT&T and everything. The HTC First didn’t even last a few months on the market, and I doubt anyone has looked at “Facebook Home” in months. There was a rumor that AT&T only manage to sell a total of 15,000 devices, even with price cuts that brought down the price to $0.01. Canalys analyst Daniel Matte said “Consumers weren’t dying for a Facebook experience on their phone,” and he was dead right. The same can be said about consumers’ needs nowadays in relation to Amazon.
I hope I’m wrong. I hope that the Fire Phone is a bestseller. I love Amazon. Maybe a deeper relationship with Amazon is what consumers have always craved. But in reality, Amazon has spent years developing a phone that addresses zero needs and relies on features that no one wants.
