Amazon console coming this year at sub-$ 300 price point
Amazon’s big secret project, pegged to be bigger than Kindle, looks increasingly like it will be an Android gaming console, according to reports.
Gaming site VG24/7 says the console will run Android and compete “directly with Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo,” with game streaming and download services, as well as other multimedia such as music, film and TV.
This is according to “multiple sources” which have not been named.
“Senior publishing sources have been meeting with Amazon for a briefing on the hardware – which currently goes by a number of different codenames – and popular Android and iOS games have been used to demo the device,” the publication said.
It describes the console as being similar in proportion and design to a Sony PSOne console, “grey in colour, oblong in shape and with sharp edges.” It adds that this will undergo a full re-design ahead of launch, however.
Lab 126, responsible for designing the Amazon Kindle range of tablets and eReaders, is said to be working on the project.
Allegedly the console will arrive in 2014 at less than $ 300. While nothing is mentioned, it seems likely Amazon’s Android impelentation will be a forked, content-focused custom build as we saw on the Kindle Fire tablets. Techcrunch also reports that Qualcomm’s MPQ processor will be used for the gaming device.
According to Gamespot, Amazon isn’t just focusing on the hardware side or in simply licensing content and coercing developers to its ecosystem, although all of the above is happening. Apparently its even made the move to hire an internal game development team and poached Halo writer Erik Nylund to lead some projects. Will we see Amazon in a dual-role publisher/creator as with many other modern gaming powerhouses? Seems likely.
Bigger Than Kindle: What Is Amazon's Mystery Device?
Amazon makes eReaders, sells millions of items every day via its retail portal and is even breaking ground in the tablet space with its competitively priced Kindle range of tablets. But it's yet to build a smartphone, and while the idea of a Kindle smartphone is not exactly new – it's been rumoured on and off since 2011/12 – we've still yet to see any real evidence
It's also pretty good at drumming up online interest ahead of a big launches too. Last week an advert from an invite-only Amazon recruitment event was leaked online. The advert didn't give much away about the upcoming product per se, but it did feature the words "revolutionary" and "disrupt".
"We are working on a new revolutionary V1 product that will allow us to deliver Digital Media to our customers in new ways and disrupt the current marketplace. We believe this new product will be even bigger than Kindle!" said the blurb.
It added, "You will have an enormous opportunity to make a large impact on the design, architecture, and implementation of cutting edge experiences enjoyed every day, by people you know."
So what is this new product likely to be? Could it be the Amazon phone we've been hearing so much about these past few years? Perhaps. Although it could just as easily be something else entirely… a set-top box, for instance, like Apple TV or the thoroughly excellent Roku 3.
Amazon already has one of these HDTV-connected gizmos in development, and it's apparently codenamed Cinnamon. The set-top device will run on a forked version of Android, just like the Kindle HDX, and is also likely to be a lot cheaper to produce than a phone.
Cheaper, yes. But nowhere near as lucrative. How many people do you know with a Roku 3 or Apple TV thingamajig strapped to their HDTV? Probably a few, but phones are a lot more popular – everybody has one. And Amazon's been looking at the space for quite some time now. With this in mind, I'd argue a phone makes more sense.
Why A Kindle Phone Makes Sense
Amazon’s Android tablets are coming
Late on last year reports began circulating about Amazon launching a smartphone – but not just any old smartphone. No, this Kindle smartphone wouldn't cost users a penny. It'd be completely free, and Amazon – being Amazon – would take the hardware hit on the nose and recoup its costs through punters using its built in services.
Google's Nexus project, whereby the company offers up high-end hardware at low-end prices, has been pretty successful during the past couple of years. More recently there’s the Moto G, a smartphone with excellent spec and the latest build of Android that retails for just £130 SIM-free.
Demand for competitively priced tech is high. And with the Kindle phone, Amazon could undercut every one else in the space and carve a very nice niche for itself. "We want to make money when people use our devices, not when they buy them," said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in an interview with the BBC.
How this "freemium" model would work remains to be seen. Amazon services are likely to be front and centre, just as they are on the HDX, and users might be required to sign up for a £50-a-year Prime account for accessing services like music, eBooks, movie and TV rentals/downloads and premium app and games content. And £50 a year for a free phone isn't exactly a bad deal.
Amazon has also been in talks with US networks since at least September last year, according to sources. Nothing else has been said about the handset's specs, hardware or availability. Although the device – if it indeed ever sees the light of day – is likely to be a US exclusive, at least initially.
Strategy Analytics' Neil Mawston isn't entirely sure what this new mystery product will be, although the analyst does have a few ideas: "A smartphone, bigger tablet or set-top-box seem to be the likeliest candidates at the moment," said Mawston. On the subject of price, he added, "Whatever it is, it will be cheap, as Amazon play heavily on price."
The Elephant In The Room
After testing all of Amazon's Kindle Fire tablets over the past couple of years, one thing has always stuck out to me: they're not for everyone. In fact, they're very niche tablets with a very specific purpose -propagating Amazon services.
"This isn't a tablet for power users or content creators. This is a tablet for someone who lives in Amazon's ecosystem. Maybe they already have a Kindle ereader and a large selection of Kindle books. If so, this is the perfect tablet for them," said Mike in our Kindle Fire HDX review.
There's no Google Play support, no Google services, and the app and game selection inside the Apps Store is pretty limited. You can't even download Chrome to use as a browser. And this walled garden approach would likely be the same way Amazon tackles the smartphone space – for a lot of people this just won't wash regardless of pricing.
I say "a lot of people" but, equally, there'll be plenty of consumers who'll flock to Amazon's homepage to snap up a free smartphone. Amazon's brand appeal is huge; people trust it and use its services everyday. And it's stuff like this – brand, trust, and pricing – which often tempts floating consumers into making a purchase.
HTC: OEM To The Stars
In our quest to better understand what and how a Kindle Phone would function the final question on your lips might be: who will build the device? According to reports, HTC – OEM to stars like Facebook, Sony, Palm and HP – is the most likely candidate to build Amazon's Kindle phone if and when the device is green-lighted.
Why A Kindle Phone Might Not Make Sense. Just yet…
Still there are issues with releasing a free smartphone, as Forbes' points out, "An Android-based smartphone with decent specs that could run a variant of the Kindle Fire OS is going to be more expensive than a basic eInk Kindle device, and right now Amazon does not seem confident in offering a reader on Prime, let alone a fully blown smartphone."
Being disruptive is risky and is very much a calculated risk fraught with consequences. However, should Amazon bite the bullet, then a free smartphone, backed by Prime subscriptions, or something similar, seems the most likely way of achieving this.
Now all we have to do is wait.
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David Gerrold’s perception and vision of the past, present, and future of technology
