[nomloj]

I received an email today introducing the Amazon Fire TV. I went to the link http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/ref...UvbUpU10200094 to see what it is... looks like what the recently shown BlackBerry Cyclone prototype should have been a few years back. If BBRY could have finished their product, for similar pricing... oh, I would have definitely had a couple other devices in the house.

Just in case... Mods, I searched and didn't find this yet. Move or close as you need to.

[Bla1ze]

Yup. Could have. Should have. But wasn't.

[Troy Tiscareno]

The issue is that Amazon has spent the last 15 years building ever-larger relationships with the media companies, and has a decent ecosystem of their own to "sell" with this device.

BB didn't have that, and would have found it VERY difficult to make money from such a device.

[Wiki Cydia]

The issue is that Amazon has spent the last 15 years building ever-larger relationships with the media companies, and has a decent ecosystem of their own to "sell" with this device.

BB didn't have that, and would have found it VERY difficult to make money from such a device.

Plus, as a general retailer, Amazon can offer content providers the kind of sweeteners that most companies aren't able to offer.

[lnichols]

Yup. Could have. Should have. But wasn't.

And this is why they fail!

Posted via CB10

[Italianemperor]

I always thought BB and Amazon would have been a natural partnership. Between their web services cloud and BB security and Amazon's consumer reach and dominance it would have been a great synergy.

[THBW]

BlackBerry absolutely did the right thing. It's all fine to romanticize about these things but then the rubber has to hit the road. Do Internet content providers make money? For the majority of companies, it is a resounding no.

There are exceptions but the ones that are successful are those that transform themselves into content makers vs simple providers. This is not where BlackBerry should go as a company.

I think it is important to remind yourself of the brutal reality of the retail market. Margins are thin. Just look at Amazon. Last quarter, the world's largest on line retailer sold nearby 70 billions in product to make 300 million in profit. By any stretch of the imagination, that sucks. Media content is no different, it is a low margin business.

I'm happy that Amazon is giving it a go but don't expect huge profits. As to BlackBerry, they correctly understood that this was not their strength nor was there money to be made.

Posted via CB10

[Playbook007]

Absolutely correct. Everyone's in the media/entertainment game now. With the sluggish world economy, BlackBerry needs to be in a niche.

Posted via CB10

[NickNick43]

Ordered one. Have a z10. Lightly use a nook hd. Daughter has kindle fire. Have roku and streaming Sony blu-ray. In the end it was the casual gaming aspect that sold me on spending another 100 bones on another streaming device. I'll see tomorrow. Asphalt 8 may not be forza and sev zero no mass effect but it will suit my unwind from work gaming needs

Posted via CB10

[Bla1ze]

The issue is that Amazon has spent the last 15 years building ever-larger relationships with the media companies, and has a decent ecosystem of their own to "sell" with this device.

BB didn't have that, and would have found it VERY difficult to make money from such a device.

Yet, they still can't bring Prime Instant Video to Canada.

[Orange UK]

Absolutely correct. Everyone's in the media/entertainment game now. With the sluggish world economy, BlackBerry needs to be in a niche.

Posted via CB10

Bankruptcy is a niche, for Ernest & Young and the likes.. scraping off the last remaining meat with their beaks peck, peck, pecking away after the fat cat lions in management fed themselves right upto bankruptcy proceedings.

[lnichols]

Absolutely correct. Everyone's in the media/entertainment game now. With the sluggish world economy, BlackBerry needs to be in a niche.

Posted via CB10

Hmmm everyone is int the media/entertainment game except for the company that is doing horribly right now and hemorrhaging users. Coincidence? People expect things from devices and companies now, and dismissing those things hasn't helped BlackBerry.

Posted via CB10

[Lendo]

Yet, they still can't bring Prime Instant Video to Canada.

I think that has less to do with Amazon, and more to do with our enormously r3tarded CRTC. Same problems exist with NetFlix, Huluplus and any other online service. You need to go around them via a service like unblock-us for 4.99$/mnth just to see what's already available on cable tv.

[Troy Tiscareno]

Yet, they still can't bring Prime Instant Video to Canada.

That would require separate licenses, plus dealing with additional (Canadian) companies for Canadian-owned content. Perhaps they just haven't hit that stage on their plan yet, or perhaps their numbers tell them that it isn't financially advantageous to serve the Canadian market. I don't have the answer to that.