[MarkMc]

I don't see why the the author finds it 'extremely hard for me to understand Amazon’s consumer hardware strategy'.

The strategy is simple: If 100 million people only have an Amazon device (and do not have a Google or Apple device) and one of those people wants to watch the latest James Bond film or English Premier League final, then Amazon can take a 30% cut of the price the user (or advertiser) pays.

Amazon's execution may fail because their hardware is crap and are losing to Android and Apple, but their idea is sound.

[adamc]

There will never be a 100 million if the hardware is too crappy, and that's why the strategy is hard to understand; you can't just assume the end point.

That said, Amazon's phone is the only product I thought made little sense. The Kindles are successful and drive ebook consumption. Fire TV I have no idea, but the Roku has proven that the basic idea has a market. What other giant hardware stumbles has Amazon launched?