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.
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?
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.