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post #31 of 176
9/30/11 at 12:27pm
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Amazon buying Netflix would be awesome! Roll the service into Prime. drool.gif
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post #32 of 176
9/30/11 at 12:50pm
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Originally Posted by JMRouse View Post

Amazon buying Netflix would be awesome! Roll the service into Prime. drool.gif

It would make a lot of sense. Netflix is struggling gaining any sort of ground on movie contracts (Starz) and stock is floundering. Higher ups at netflix may just say to hell with it, and unload the streaming portion to Amazon and make big $$. Amazon, who I believe already has most of its' contracts in good standing (Starz) would gain huge negotiating power over other companies when it comes to rights to stream movies.
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post #33 of 176
9/30/11 at 12:53pm
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Originally Posted by Imhoff View Post

It would make a lot of sense. Netflix is struggling gaining any sort of ground on movie contracts (Starz) and stock is floundering. Higher ups at netflix may just say to hell with it, and unload the streaming portion to Amazon and make big $$. Amazon, who I believe already has most of its' contracts in good standing (Starz) would gain huge negotiating power over other companies when it comes to rights to stream movies.

Netflix + Amazon Prime + Kindle Fire + (Possibly Spotify?) = icon_gu_b_slayer[1].gificon_gu_b_slayer[1].gificon_gu_b_slayer[1].gificon_gu_b_slayer[1].gificon_gu_b_slayer[1].gificon_gu_b_slayer[1].gificon_gu_b_slayer[1].gificon_gu_b_slayer[1].gif
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post #34 of 176
9/30/11 at 12:55pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Imhoff View Post

It would make a lot of sense. Netflix is struggling gaining any sort of ground on movie contracts (Starz) and stock is floundering. Higher ups at netflix may just say to hell with it, and unload the streaming portion to Amazon and make big $$. Amazon, who I believe already has most of its' contracts in good standing (Starz) would gain huge negotiating power over other companies when it comes to rights to stream movies.

They would also gain a much more recognizable product offering. Everyone knows you can buy movies, music and tv shows digitally from Amazon, but I am surprised at the amount of people I come across who don't know they have a Netflix streaming competitor. If Amazon kept Netflix they way it is, like they did with Audible, they could continue to grow a more visible brand/product offering. Use their stronger ties to the content owners to increase the offerings.

The only downside I could see is that with the lack of true competition it might be easier for the content owners to try and strong arm Amazon like they did to Netflix.
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post #35 of 176
9/30/11 at 1:03pm
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Originally Posted by JMRouse View Post

They would also gain a much more recognizable product offering. Everyone knows you can buy movies, music and tv shows digitally from Amazon, but I am surprised at the amount of people I come across who don't know they have a Netflix streaming competitor. If Amazon kept Netflix they way it is, like they did with Audible, they could continue to grow a more visible brand/product offering. Use their stronger ties to the content owners to increase the offerings.
The only downside I could see is that with the lack of true competition it might be easier for the content owners to try and strong arm Amazon like they did to Netflix.

Let's not forget the fact that Amazon also offers eBooks and pretty sure when anyone mentions Amazon, that is the first thing to pop into peoples minds. You are right, when it comes to music and streaming movies, very rarely will people place Amazon at the 1 or 2 spot on the list. It's always Netflix and iTunes... and lesser extent, Hulu.

And yeah, without having any real competition, FCC might jump in and muck up a deal like that. But as it stands right now, Netflix is #1 stock I am keeping an eye on, with Amazon right there as well. Again, all speculation, but it looks like all the pieces are lining up for such a deal to go through.
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post #36 of 176
9/30/11 at 1:23pm
Thread Starter 
I'm not really worried about the FCC here. Seems like a fringe market still compared to other media. My bigger concern are the content owners. They are the ones that made Netflix raise their prices in the first place. If it's just Amazon, they would be able to leverage more control. Amazon would be fairly desperate to grow it's content portfolio for streaming since a lot of people still view it as "old stuff."

EDIT: By "old stuff" I mean dated movies, TV shows, etc. Not the newer content consumers want to see. It's the big complaint Netflix streaming always gets.
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post #37 of 176
9/30/11 at 1:26pm
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Originally Posted by Imhoff View Post

Pre-ordered one yesterday. Since I was never able to snag an HP touchpad, this will work fine.
Was planning on getting an iPad, but forking over $500+ for something to simply surf the web and watch netflix on was tough to swallow. The Fire will be perfect to do this.

I haven't preordered yet but I'm strongly leaning towards picking one up. I do sort of want to handle one before though to make certain the 7-inch screen is suitable for my media needs.
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post #38 of 176
9/30/11 at 5:40pm
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Cross post from my HP Touchpad thread. Crazy rumors are flying tonight that Amazon wants to buy PALM from HP: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/223032/20110930/amazon-palm-hp-webos-touchpad-kindle-fire-ipad-rubenstein-hurd-apotheker.htm

The reasoning makes sense. They built the Fire's OS on top of Android 2.1. It sounds like Google's change of plans to put a tighter grip of control over the OS on tablets from 3.0 onward put a damper on their long term plans. Amazon would run the risk of being stuck on Android 2.x unless Google opened things up in the future. Buying PALM would give them Web OS, a robust modern mobile operating system that they would have full control over. The prospect of future Amazon tablets running a customized version of Web OS sounds great. Plus they may get Jon Rubenstein in the deal. This MUST happen. icon_gu_b_slayer[1].gif
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post #39 of 176
9/30/11 at 5:50pm
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Originally Posted by JMRouse View Post

Cross post from my HP Touchpad thread. Crazy rumors are flying tonight that Amazon wants to buy PALM from HP: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/223032/20110930/amazon-palm-hp-webos-touchpad-kindle-fire-ipad-rubenstein-hurd-apotheker.htm
The reasoning makes sense. They built the Fire's OS on top of Android 2.1. It sounds like Google's change of plans to put a tighter grip of control over the OS on tablets from 3.0 onward put a damper on their long term plans. Amazon would run the risk of being stuck on Android 2.x unless Google opened things up in the future. Buying PALM would give them Web OS, a robust modern mobile operating system that they would have full control over. The prospect of future Amazon tablets running a customized version of Web OS sounds great. Plus they may get Jon Rubenstein in the deal. This MUST happen. icon_gu_b_slayer[1].gif

Really!? Wow that would be huge! Look at us... like some nerds chatting on some internet forum...
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post #40 of 176
9/30/11 at 8:23pm
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Originally Posted by Imhoff View Post

Really!? Wow that would be huge! Look at us... Like some nerds chatting on some internet forum...

That is what I do and all. satisfied.gif
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post #41 of 176
9/30/11 at 8:28pm
I'm seriously considering buying one of these and downgrading from my Blackberry to a phone that does phone calls and texts. By dumping my data plan I'd save enough in a few months to cover the Kindle Fire and Amazon Prime membership and I could watch movies, read books and use wi-fi to access my e-mail and the internet.

After reviewing the e-mail I get everyday, I'm not seeing anything that is so urgent that it couldn't wait until I was at a wi-fi spot, like my work, my home or even a random coffee shop. Plus, if someone really wants to get hold of me they can text.
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post #42 of 176
9/30/11 at 8:44pm
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Originally Posted by Bradford View Post

I'm seriously considering buying one of these and downgrading from my Blackberry to a phone that does phone calls and texts. By dumping my data plan I'd save enough in a few months to cover the Kindle Fire and Amazon Prime membership and I could watch movies, read books and use wi-fi to access my e-mail and the internet.

After reviewing the e-mail I get everyday, I'm not seeing anything that is so urgent that it couldn't wait until I was at a wi-fi spot, like my work, my home or even a random coffee shop. Plus, if someone really wants to get hold of me they can text.

I honestly don't know why people want tablets with 3G. If you have a smartphone like the iPhone or any modern Android phone you can just tether the tablet to your phone over wi-fi. You get a single bill instead of two and you can use the phone for anything, not just your tablet.
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post #43 of 176
9/30/11 at 8:49pm
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Originally Posted by JMRouse View Post

I honestly don't know why people want tablets with 3G. If you have a smartphone like the iPhone or any modern Android phone you can just tether the tablet to your phone over wi-fi. You get a single bill instead of two and you can use the phone for anything, not just your tablet.

Agreed, although like I said, I'm thinking of just getting rid of my smartphone altogether. Yes, I would be limited to accessing the internet in places that provide wi-fi, but it seems so prevalent now that I'm thinking that wouldn't be a huge problem.
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post #44 of 176
9/30/11 at 8:56pm
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Originally Posted by Bradford View Post

Agreed, although like I said, I'm thinking of just getting rid of my smartphone altogether. Yes, I would be limited to accessing the internet in places that provide wi-fi, but it seems so prevalent now that I'm thinking that wouldn't be a huge problem.

Ah sorry, skimmed your post. Missed that part. Makes sense...

Soon it's going to be hard to buy a phone that is not a smartphone. Market is moving that way.
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post #45 of 176
10/1/11 at 11:51am
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Originally Posted by Rambo View Post

Interesting to think of the privacy implications of this thing...
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Originally Posted by Rambo View Post

No, not in that way. The Amazon Silk browser runs all of your data on the Amazon servers. It also stores and remembers your "habits" over time. That's a FUCKING GOLDMINE of personalized user data.


Amazon has issued an official statement on the matter. Worth a read: http://gigaom.com/2011/09/28/amazon-silk-or-a-spider-web/
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Is Amazon able to peer into its customer usage behavior and use that to offer services based on that data. For instance if you see thousands of your customers going to buy SeeVees shoes from say a store like James Perse at a certain price, can you guys use that data to specifically tailor the Amazon store and offer up deals on those very same pair of shoes?”

The answer is no, as you can see in our terms and conditions, URLs are used to troubleshoot and diagnose Amazon Silk technical issues. Moreover, you can also choose to operate Amazon Silk in basic or “off-cloud” mode. Off-cloud mode allows web pages generally to go directly to your computer rather than pass through our servers. As a reminder, usage data is collected anonymously and stored in aggregate, and no personal identifiable information is stored. It’s also possible to completely turn off the split-browsing mode and use Amazon Silk like a conventional Web browser.

I guess it just depends on how much you want to trust them or not. I still keep going back to the fact that we have been handing this type of data to companies for years. I really don't see why what Amazon is doing here should freak anyone out more then any of the other ways companies track us on the web.
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