Author Topic: Fire Phone  (Read 11631 times)

Eric

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Fire Phone
« on: June 18, 2014, 03:00:16 PM »
Amazon just entered the smart phone market.  You'd think that if you're paying between $200-$300 for a phone including a 2 year contract to expensive cell carrier AT&T, that they would've come up with a better name than the Fire Phone.  In fact, I'd think the Anti-FIRE Phone would be more apt.

http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-amazon-smartphone-20140618-story.html

gimp

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #1 on: June 18, 2014, 06:06:35 PM »
My friend worked on the hardware. Awesome device. I won't get one, but it's a great toy.

surfhb

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #2 on: June 18, 2014, 06:16:57 PM »
Haha.  I came here to post the same thing Eric

It's point and shoot..... " I want that".  Bam!   It'll be at your door in 2 days....here's your tracking number :). Brilliant!
« Last Edit: June 18, 2014, 06:19:40 PM by surfhb »

warfreak2

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2014, 03:36:16 AM »
Why is this being sold as a phone, when it's plainly an app?

Oh, right, because nobody would pay $200-$300 for the app.

randymarsh

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2014, 06:12:02 AM »
Why is this being sold as a phone, when it's plainly an app?

Oh, right, because nobody would pay $200-$300 for the app.

At this point aren't smartphones almost all the same except for the software and apps? The hardware is 99% the same. The only decisions you're really making when you buy are screen size and OS.

If any company can make a successful play at competing with Apple, Android/Samsung, and MS, it's got to be Amazon.

nordlead

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2014, 06:48:14 AM »
Why is this being sold as a phone, when it's plainly an app?

Oh, right, because nobody would pay $200-$300 for the app.

At this point aren't smartphones almost all the same except for the software and apps? The hardware is 99% the same. The only decisions you're really making when you buy are screen size and OS.

If any company can make a successful play at competing with Apple, Android/Samsung, and MS, it's got to be Amazon.

Battery capacity (and if it is removable), screen technology (e.g. samsung uses AMOLED vs IPS LCD for LG), NFC, SD readers or not, and more all vary between the $200 (on contract) phones.

Maybe all you care about is screen size and OS, but many people factor in SD readers and removable batteries, which in the android world tends to lead people to the Samsung Galaxy S series.

Anyways, the Amazon phone will probably drop in price pretty fast. What makes their tablets attractive is their dirt cheap price for good specs (only really rivaled by the Nexus line). With any android phone you can just download a few apps to get the same features as the fire phone AND you get the Play store.

GuitarStv

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #6 on: June 19, 2014, 06:49:53 AM »
I'm still waiting for this cellphone craze to die out . . .

Icecreamarsenal

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #7 on: June 19, 2014, 06:59:32 AM »

Why is this being sold as a phone, when it's plainly an app?

Oh, right, because nobody would pay $200-$300 for the app.

At this point aren't smartphones almost all the same except for the software and apps? The hardware is 99% the same. The only decisions you're really making when you buy are screen size and OS.

If any company can make a successful play at competing with Apple, Android/Samsung, and MS, it's got to be Amazon.

Battery capacity (and if it is removable), screen technology (e.g. samsung uses AMOLED vs IPS LCD for LG), NFC, SD readers or not, and more all vary between the $200 (on contract) phones.

Maybe all you care about is screen size and OS, but many people factor in SD readers and removable batteries, which in the android world tends to lead people to the Samsung Galaxy S series.

Anyways, the Amazon phone will probably drop in price pretty fast. What makes their tablets attractive is their dirt cheap price for good specs (only really rivaled by the Nexus line). With any android phone you can just download a few apps to get the same features as the fire phone AND you get the Play store.

I just came back from Korea. It was interesting to see that most people carried multiple batteries to keep a full charge throughout the day. It seems almost essential for everyday life: to pay for the bus, pay for groceries, you can just tap your phone on a reader.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

EricL

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #8 on: June 19, 2014, 07:10:20 AM »
It took a while (and a lot of money) but I found the advantage of hanging on to gadgets to obsolescence is the eventual upgrade to the latest and greatest is more satisfying and cheaper than buying every incremental improvement.  Plus something like the Fire will have its bugs and teething problems for the first iteration or so.  However, no matter how neat it is I'm not sure a money hole instant gratification machine is a good buy.   

AndThen

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #9 on: June 19, 2014, 09:55:37 AM »
While the phone is costly, the feature that caught my interest the most is the unlimited free photo storage for pictures taken by the fire phone. That sounds pretty damn cool to me. I would definitely consider getting one used down the road and using it as a travel phone since it does seem to have a wide range of cellular spectrums.

rocksinmyhead

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #10 on: June 19, 2014, 03:46:31 PM »
It took a while (and a lot of money) but I found the advantage of hanging on to gadgets to obsolescence is the eventual upgrade to the latest and greatest is more satisfying and cheaper than buying every incremental improvement.  Plus something like the Fire will have its bugs and teething problems for the first iteration or so.  However, no matter how neat it is I'm not sure a money hole instant gratification machine is a good buy.   

yes!!! I strongly feel this way about both cars and electronics. I DO NOT understand those people who need to be "first." it seems so risky and impractical! I waited a while to get a smartphone (not as long as some of y'all, I'm impressed, but I got mine in early 2012) and it was a tiny dirt cheap Samsung but OH MAN it was such a crazy upgrade from a dumbphone, it just seemed magical!! or when I upgraded from a 1995 Chevy Lumina to a 2012 Nissan Versa... WOW car technology has improved in 17 years!! :)

so yeah, it sounds pretty cool, but maybe it will be cheap in six years or something and I'll get it then :)

Brad_H

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #11 on: June 20, 2014, 01:00:33 PM »
I am a very early adopter of new technologies that interest me, as there are only a few ways I have to encourage a company to pursue a certain track, money from investing or from sales. I am more than happy to apply some of my vast resources to both sides of that equation, and sales goes farther. I also beta test whenever I can. Solar panels, home heat pumps, multimedia PCs, smart phones, laptops, e-readers, LED lights, foreign budget cars, are all things I took the initial hit on to help bring it to the general market (ie cheaper for everybody).  I will not however be buying an Fire Phone, I think the only real contribution it makes is Firefly and it would have been better as an app.

shadowmoss

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #12 on: June 21, 2014, 07:51:40 AM »
I agree with not being an early adopter.  I also agree with putting money towards the improvements I want to see.  So, I put $100 towards the Elio Motors (vhttp://www.eliomotors.com ) which puts me getting somewhere around the first 20K of the cars.  I'm donating towards them succeeding, but giving them time to work out any initial bugs.

I buy my phone(s) from chinavasion.com so they are unlocked and no contract for the phone.  I use Consumer Cellular and their sim works fine in it for both voice and data.  The GPS function doesn't seem to work, but I'm ok with that.

Not affiliated with either, just things I'm directing my money towards at this point.  I have no interest in getting any smarter phone than I have.

Nords

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #13 on: June 21, 2014, 08:57:55 PM »
Quote
FIRE Phone
Aw, crap.  I forgot that another noun has just been branded, and I thought this would be a thread about a good phone to own for FIRE.

Wake me when a smartphone can completely replace my wallet, right down to the spare car key and the library card...

Paul der Krake

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #14 on: June 21, 2014, 09:05:12 PM »
This feels so un-Amazon. They've always made their money on thin margins, as per Jeff Bezos' quote "your margin is my opportunity".

I think a lot of people were taken aback by the fact that they went with a $600 handset that quite frankly, doesn't command such a high sticker price. It will be very interesting to see how well they do.

CWAL

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #15 on: June 23, 2014, 09:17:30 PM »
Quote
13-megapixel rear-facing camera and five front-facing cameras.

Wait, what?

On amazon.com's schematic, it shows four of them as "dynamic perspective sensors".

God, I can barely handle all the damn gestures you're magically supposed to know on some of these phones.  Now there might be menus that only show up when you twist the phone the right way...

I think I'll stick with my current phone until they have one that just lets you mentally imagine what you want to happen and can deal with any imaginable command... xD

A_P_

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #16 on: June 23, 2014, 09:45:38 PM »
This feels so un-Amazon. They've always made their money on thin margins, as per Jeff Bezos' quote "your margin is my opportunity".

I think a lot of people were taken aback by the fact that they went with a $600 handset that quite frankly, doesn't command such a high sticker price. It will be very interesting to see how well they do.
My thoughts exactly.

Forcus

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #17 on: June 26, 2014, 11:50:31 AM »
I have a flip phone.

I often leave it where I am not so I can be left alone.

That is all :)

The Money Monk

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #18 on: June 26, 2014, 01:47:56 PM »
Quote
FIRE Phone

Wake me when a smartphone can completely replace my wallet, right down to the spare car key and the library card...

I can get you halfway there; I have an app called "key ring' that stores library card, rewards cards, and all that stuff. They just scan the screen.

Can't help you with the spare key

cdub

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #19 on: June 26, 2014, 02:34:13 PM »
While the phone is costly, the feature that caught my interest the most is the unlimited free photo storage for pictures taken by the fire phone. That sounds pretty damn cool to me. I would definitely consider getting one used down the road and using it as a travel phone since it does seem to have a wide range of cellular spectrums.

Google Plus will automatically back up your photos too - albeit it's only 15gb for free

Rural

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #20 on: June 26, 2014, 08:50:51 PM »
I have a flip phone.

I often leave it where I am not so I can be left alone.

That is all :)


I got my first flip phone today, as a matter of fact, as my cellular carrier notified me that my bar phone (not new when I bought it in 2005) will no longer accept or make calls starting July 1. Luckily, the flip phone was free. It has a camera, a which is a first for me and phones.

AndThen

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #21 on: July 28, 2014, 09:38:35 PM »
While the phone is costly, the feature that caught my interest the most is the unlimited free photo storage for pictures taken by the fire phone. That sounds pretty damn cool to me. I would definitely consider getting one used down the road and using it as a travel phone since it does seem to have a wide range of cellular spectrums.

Google Plus will automatically back up your photos too - albeit it's only 15gb for free

Poverty 15gb with google or UNLIMITED with fire phone? I rest my case :)

Too bad the phone is getting pretty bad reviews, though. Not that I was ready to waste my money on it just yet.

AndThen

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #22 on: November 04, 2014, 08:23:00 AM »
Well the only feature that was enticing of the terrible phone is now free for Prime members. Unlimited photo uploads. Score!

https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/primephotos/

Pooperman

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #23 on: November 04, 2014, 08:40:28 AM »

Why is this being sold as a phone, when it's plainly an app?

Oh, right, because nobody would pay $200-$300 for the app.

At this point aren't smartphones almost all the same except for the software and apps? The hardware is 99% the same. The only decisions you're really making when you buy are screen size and OS.

If any company can make a successful play at competing with Apple, Android/Samsung, and MS, it's got to be Amazon.

Battery capacity (and if it is removable), screen technology (e.g. samsung uses AMOLED vs IPS LCD for LG), NFC, SD readers or not, and more all vary between the $200 (on contract) phones.

Maybe all you care about is screen size and OS, but many people factor in SD readers and removable batteries, which in the android world tends to lead people to the Samsung Galaxy S series.

Anyways, the Amazon phone will probably drop in price pretty fast. What makes their tablets attractive is their dirt cheap price for good specs (only really rivaled by the Nexus line). With any android phone you can just download a few apps to get the same features as the fire phone AND you get the Play store.

I just came back from Korea. It was interesting to see that most people carried multiple batteries to keep a full charge throughout the day. It seems almost essential for everyday life: to pay for the bus, pay for groceries, you can just tap your phone on a reader.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Bolding mine.

LibrarIan

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #24 on: November 13, 2014, 12:30:06 PM »
Here's something funny that happened a couple days ago. I needed a box to ship something at work and I found one that was originally from Amazon. Instead of plain tape, it had tape sealing the box that advertised their Fire phone. I tossed the box on my desk and it started generating a lot of attention. Coworkers would walk by and be like, "You... got a Fire phone? Really? Uh... why?" I tried to explain it was just somebody else's empty box and that it probably wasn't used to ship a Fire phone anyway, but alas, now I'm the guy people think is the only person on Earth with a Fire phone.

damize

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #25 on: November 13, 2014, 01:18:52 PM »
Quote
FIRE Phone

Wake me when a smartphone can completely replace my wallet, right down to the spare car key and the library card...

I can get you halfway there; I have an app called "key ring' that stores library card, rewards cards, and all that stuff. They just scan the screen.

Can't help you with the spare key

http://www.kwikset.com/kevo/default.aspx

Engineer_Erik

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #26 on: November 15, 2014, 05:48:16 PM »
Quote
FIRE Phone

Wake me when a smartphone can completely replace my wallet, right down to the spare car key and the library card...

I can get you halfway there; I have an app called "key ring' that stores library card, rewards cards, and all that stuff. They just scan the screen.

Can't help you with the spare key

http://www.kwikset.com/kevo/default.aspx
That would be slick if you had an air bnb rental!  No worries about dropping off/ lost keys.

sol

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #27 on: November 15, 2014, 07:58:54 PM »
Wake me when a smartphone can completely replace my wallet, right down to the spare car key and the library card...

This is totally possible now with apps that store scannable versions of your library card, and bluetooth-enabled door locks like the kevo or goji. 

Not sure why you'd spend $200 on a phone and then $200 on a door lock to replace a $20 wallet, but it's at least technically possible.

But this technology gets cheaper and cheaper every year.  There are multiple companies already pitching $150 chromebook (laptops) so I figure in another 10 years the bluetooth-enabled keyless entry for your front door will cost like $5 more than the regular deadbolt.

gimp

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #28 on: November 17, 2014, 01:29:04 PM »
I can buy a BLE module for around $5 today, and build a keyless lock with it for around $20. In onesies, not bulk. The only two technically difficult parts, in my opinion, are power (battery? wall? moving a deadbolt is not entirely trivial from a power consumption point of view) and security. Get those right and in bulk it might cost $5 to manufacture today. Or maybe $10. It won't take ten years, not from a technical or cost point of view.

The really difficult part, to be honest, is the interface (how you open it, how any "app" or whatever looks like, how automatic things are, what kind of security is expected, how convenient it is, even how it looks.) Learn from Apple. If you design something right, it might look trivial to make, and it might have relatively simple internals, but the really hard part is getting it good enough for your average customer to use it. Making it simple is far more difficult than making it complex.

One has to figure out the real problem, and the simplest solution to solve it. (Okay, "problem" here means "thing we want to solve" not "a pressing concern in our lives"; obviously this is not a real issue for most people. That's not important here.) Problem: it's inconvenient to carry around keys, and it's even more inconvenient if your hands are full. Solution: have a door that unlocks by itself whenever you want it to, and requires no extra key. Assume smartphone (reasonable assumption in this part of the world; I get it, you're a special snowflake using a dumbphone for cost reasons or whatever.) Assume default behavior (door unlocks in the presence of an authorized smartphone, locks when smartphone exists proximity), and allow user to change behavior to various other presets (write an app). Security would be implemented invisibly to the user (asymmetric crypto using a standard authentication protocol over wifi/bluetooth/etc) unless you want another component (fingerprint, password, etc) which is optional (a key requires no more security than simply having the key, so this wouldn't really be worse; lockpicking is analogous to protocol-hacking.) Feel free to replace "phone" with "keycard or any other RFID/bluetooth/wifi-enabled device" if you wish.

Now, all _that_ engineering work is what makes a door lock $200 or whatever today, and $20 in the future - the R&D is paid for, other companies copy the already developed solution (which requires maybe 5% of the resources as developing it), blah blah. The tech part is already dirt-cheap.

Okay that was fun. Sorry. Back to work.

sol

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #29 on: November 17, 2014, 01:38:49 PM »
Yea, the downside here is that I'd also have to replace all of my bicycle locks with combo locks.  And convince my HOA to upgrade our mailboxes to keyless.  And never lock my office at work.

$200 to replace a single key on my keyring isn't so helpful, until I can also get rid of the rest of the keys.

gimp

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Re: Fire Phone
« Reply #30 on: November 17, 2014, 01:42:04 PM »
This is an excellent point. Right now, these locks are either 1) tech toys (which, to be fair, you might buy simply to support the company and vote with your dollar), or 2) a long-term investment for businesses like hotels.

Compare that to something like a nest thermostat or even a nest protect (or their various competitors), where just one unit can make sense.