Ask HN: Amazon asked me to develop for the Kindle, shall I?

[krumjahn]

I just got off the phone with someone from Amazon inviting me to develop for their platform. They noticed that I have a top 100 niche app on the iTunes store and think that it would be a great fit for Kindle.

Pros: - First mover advantage. I get a limited beta license to release my app first on the platform. - Apparently they have a better app discovering mechanism on their store

Cons: - Unproven market - He won't give me any numbers of kindle sales

What it boils down to for me is opportunity cost. Would I make more money developing for Android, Blackberry or Nokia over the Kindle?

[ecaron]

Go for it! Amazon's track record in new media has been very solid. If you're nervous, push for more non-monetary perks (like giftcards for their video service or a chance to tour their HQ). Being their goto-guy for a new platform would pay off in spades and be an incredibly unique opportunity.

I'm sure if you explain your hesitation to them they'll make adjustments to accommodate you. Propose an arrangement that, though still plausible, leans in your favor. They need you & your skills on their platform more than you need them (they're probably trying to skip the lag-of-quality-app problem that Android is still wrestling with).

[krumjahn]

Thanks for the encouragement. I actually tried to ask them for a discount on a kindle but was rejected. As for being their go-to guy, I'm not sure what I can gain down the road. Maybe another beta license for the "KindlePad"?

[earl]

Wait, seriously, they didn't give you a kindle?

Email them back and tell them to send you a kindle when they get serious. In fact, one of each model for testing.

I have no idea what your app does, but they are going to be, if not already, way more androids in the world than kindles.

[hga]

"Email them back and tell them to send you a kindle when they get serious."

Agreed ... at least with the point that they aren't very serious about their offer to you, which puts into question some of the benefits that are being posited. They're proposing a wild jump into the dark and expecting you to shoulder all the costs, opportunity and out of pocket (not even a discount???). The idea that you'll be "their goto-guy" looks unlikely; perhaps check out the developer agreement to see if you can even talk about what you learn to others, if you're the sort of person who can turn that into an advantage (assuming the platform takes off in this way).

So I'd say it comes down to how much of a gambler you are (compare Digital Research and Microsoft when IBM came calling for an x86 OS, although note that Bill Gates was very well connected through his parents) and what your current non-Kindle prospects are. Can you turn your current iOS position into something greater? Does an Android or whatever port have a serious chance at getting traction? Right now you have no idea whatsoever if a Kindle app will or even can gain traction; Amazon's success at selling books is as you note elsewhere no indication of their likely success with apps.

Another way of looking at this is that few are likely to buy a monochrome Kindle to run apps on. Many customers have a Kindle for it's fantastic convenience (the ability to read any of a large selection of books while running the kids around town, on a vacation, etc.) and a Kindle app market is a de novo marketing and sales proposition, although Amazon at least has a rather captive audience for the marketing (I'd pay real money to Amazon to have a switch for their site so that I'd never ever see anything about the Kindle outside of reviews). But that doesn't mean they'll ever make any (serious) app sales, beware of the Chinaman Sales Fallacy (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1223405).

[mikecane]

Well, the thing is there is rumor of a KindlePad of some kind coming, so think of that. Also, did you see the Amazon Kindle news for today? Massive sales. I've never been an Amazon fan but I had to acknowledge what just happened today: http://ipadtest.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/this-settles-it-kin...

And, here's a post from a writer publishing directly through Kindle who is very pleased with the money he's making: http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2010/07/with-change-comes-ange...

I'm not advocating for Amazon. Just giving you some stuff to consider. Good luck.

[krumjahn]

Thanks for the information. The sales figure is impressive but it's for a book. I'd expect app sales to be less than a book publisher's because users bought the kindle mainly for the ability to consume content, not apps.

[mikecane]

OTOH, people are bound to have their Kindles with them all the time, because they're lighter and less expensive than an iPad, say. And there are times when people just want to kill time, not concentrate on reading. So, if it's a game you have, you might want to consider that. Plus, the rumored KindlePad, which will do more than just read books (I know bringing this up seems to contradict my first point, but still. People have their libraries in K format, so they'd be more likely to also buy that Pad.)

[famfam]

Amazon reaching out is the opportunity. Not the droid/berry/nokia you have sitting on your desk that will be sitting there next month.

[krumjahn]

I've been thinking about this too. I feel awesome that Amazon reached out to me but does that mean it's better than Droid/Berry/Nokia? If I agree to any new opportunity, what if it's the next Microsoft KIN/ZUNE (I doubt it)? Even if Amazon sells a million kindles a month (12 million a year), it would take them a few years to catch up to droid/berry/nokia? It seems like a high risk/high reward situation when I don't even know if the Kindle app store will work out at all. Whereas, the other markets are proven. I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just talking about a different angle of approach.

[mikecane]

OTOH, wouldn't you be more discoverable in a sparsely-populated Kindle App Store than a Droid or Berry Store filled with competition? I've got to stop replying to this. It makes me seem like I'm pimping Amazon. I feel unclean.