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James Kendrick
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The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me

By | September 27, 2011, 2:12pm PDT

Summary: Amazon will make shopping at its store so easy on the tablet to be announced tomorrow, that it may bankrupt me.

I shop at Amazon. I shop at the online store all the time. I am still amazed at the fact that no matter how obscure the product may be that I am searching for, Amazon has it. The tactic of making the act of shopping, something I normally hate to do, so easy and satisfying definitely results in my spending far too much with them. My wife long ago stopped asking me what “all these charges from Amazon are”. I shop at Amazon so much already, if the tablet expected to be announced tomorrow does what I think, it may very well bankrupt me.

I strongly believe the sole purpose behind the Amazon Tablet, allegedly named Fire, is to sell people more stuff. Not compete with the iPad nor the host of Android tablets, it is simply to sell me more stuff. The expected digital media will be front and center on this tablet, but more importantly it will be a window into the entire Amazon mega-store.

Knowing the Amazon folks, finding and buying stuff on the Amazon Tablet will be even easier than online in a web browser. Swiping and tapping on the screen will send all sorts of stuff to my home. My favorite salad dressing? Check. Replacement razor assembly for my electric shaver? Check. Cargo cover for a 2007 Mazda CX-7 vehicle? Check.

Amazon is going to turn a simple buying exercise into a fun one, and that is going to break the bank. My personal bank, anyway, between nice shopping and free shipping I am going to be constantly buying stuff. And that is all Amazon wants with its tablet.

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Topics

Amazon.com Inc., Amazon Kindle, Online Store, Tablets, Notebooks, Retail, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, James Kendrick

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long.

Disclosure

James Kendrick

James Kendrick has no affiliations or relationships that need to be disclosed.

Biography

James Kendrick

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long. Prior to joining ZDNet, James was the Founding Editor of jkOnTheRun, a CNET Top 100 Tech Blog that was acquired by GigaOM in 2008 and is now part of that prestigious tech network. James' writing has appeared in many print publications: Smartphone and Pocket PC Magazine, Information Week and Laptop Magazine to name a few. James' coverage of the mobile technology sector has regularly appeared in the New York Times, Salon.com and CNN/ Fortune online. Not just a writer, James has filmed numerous video reviews and how-tos that have garnered well over a million viewers. He has appeared on local news segments and been interviewed by the Associated Press on mobile technology topics. Additionally, James has been podcasting about mobile technology for years.

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Nice JOb
baconman84 1st Mar
Fantastic Job

Daly City Plumber
View in thread
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
Rama.NET 27th Sep
I understand how you feel. grin
>>My wife long ago stopped asking me what ???all these charges from Amazon are???.
Ditto here. grin

>>I strongly believe the sole purpose behind the Amazon Tablet, allegedly named Fire, is to sell people more stuff. Not compete with the iPad nor the host of Android tablets, it is simply to sell me more stuff. The expected digital media will be front and center on this tablet, but more importantly it will be a window into the entire Amazon mega-store.

It squarely aims at the market that B&N Nook color has right now.
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
jglopic 27th Sep
Couldn't agree more. Amazon is doing a bang-up job of marketing so far on all of their products, and tying things together with a color tablet will be the icing on the cake.

By the way, thanks for having a great blog. Sadly, those saps at your previous web address have ruined your previously good blog and title. Thanks for keep us readers informed and engaged (and not treating us like advertising targets).
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
Scrabbler 27th Sep
Can't you shop at amazon on any tablet?
They have an app (or two) for that.
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
dksmidtx 28th Sep
The Amazon tablet is going to give a whole new meaning to "Shopping Cart" - imagine sitting on a bench at the mall ordering away while your wife is inside shopping for shoes...time to raise the credit card limit!
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
antv311 28th Sep
@dksmidtx agreed, and once your done you can watch a movie using your prime account.
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RE: time to raise the credit card limit!
fatman65536 28th Sep
@dksmidtx

Actually, that would be the time to max out the card, so she can't buy another pair of shoes!.
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Nice JOb
baconman84 1st Mar
Fantastic Job

Daly City Plumber
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I Agree
bobert1@... 28th Sep
Look at the ease at which you can order a book off the Kindle. Therefore, Amazon should be giving the thing away for free or at least a very low (sub $100) price. They'll easily make up the cost with the merchandise they sell to compulsive buyers like me.
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
antv311 28th Sep
Thank you for writing this article it is literally what I have been saying on all the other sites. I'm glad I'm not crazy or the only one who thinks this. Now I can scream it from the facebook mountain tops and since it's ZDnet someone might listen. "clicks like button"
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
Randalllind 28th Sep
Customer service rocks I brought a mouse that didn't work and next morning UPS was knocking on my door with new one.
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
tkeller@... 28th Sep
@Randalllind Exactly. A big part of their success is the customer service. I've seen complaints and haters, but my experience over the years has been stellar.
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Hmm....
Joe_Raby 28th Sep
So Apple's 30% commission is just for looks then eh?
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
Stix2002 28th Sep
Read slower
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
ken@... 28th Sep
The author is an irresponsible moron. Take responsibility for your own actions and stop shopping. This story was pointless and unnecessary.
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
Rohan Jayasekera 28th Sep
@ken@... If you claim that it's that simple, you're the irresponsible one. Would you hand a crack addict some crack and say it's not your fault if it gets used? Our economy is unfortunately driven to a great extent by the success of modern marketing.
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
bargeemike 28th Sep
@ken@... It's people like you that convince the world that Americans have no sense of irony.
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
jwmckay 28th Sep
So Amazon will become the virtual storefront with 3-5 million tablet windows. Like 5th Ave in NYC, I wonder how'll they decorate them for the holidays?
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The Kindle Fire is simply a POS/cash machine,
adornoe@... Updated - 28th Sep
and its sole purpose is to be used as a point-of-sale device, where your Amazon accounts and bank accounts and wallets/purses/pockets are used as the cash dispensers.

Any other uses that might occur with the "Fire" are purely incidental.
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
bargeemike 28th Sep
@adornoe@... Welcome to the wonderful world of capitalism...
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Nothing wrong with capitalism, and if Amazon is successful with the idea,
adornoe@... 28th Sep
then more power to them.

My gripe is about people falling for the advertising and marketing and hype that has the device being "sold" as a tablet. It's a POS device disguised as a tablet. To me it's more about the truth in advertising.
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
Trep Ford 28th Sep
"Control, control. You must learn control!"

It's not Amazon's fault, now is it. happy
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
sakendrick 28th Sep
Ya'll, taking his credit card will not solve the issue. He has the number memorized! Gah! On the upside, I usually benefit from his purchases!
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
jdl2010 28th Sep
my thoughts exactly... Amazon is gonna ruin me... much more than it already does... Its gotten to the point that I log on to amazon.com like a lot of people log on Facebook, obsessively. Still, cant beat the prices (sometimes), the convenience, the reviews AND the free shipping... love them...
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
bargeemike 28th Sep
@adornoe I was not making a value judgement on capitalism. I was trying to point out that if one accepts capitalism as the ruling economic paradigm, it ill behoves one to complain when companies behave according to said paradigm. Amazon are simply doing what a company in a capitalist society must do, maximise profits.

If you don't approve, then there ARE other economic models one could espouse.
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
cdhanks 28th Sep
Gee James, you blame Amazon for your being a weak willed shop-aholic? Man up dude and don't spend more than you can afford.
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
bargeemike 29th Sep
@cdhanks See my reply to @ken@... above.
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RE: The Amazon Tablet may bankrupt me
alan_r_cam 29th Sep
I don't buy from Amazon much. They have good stuff, even some bargains, but the international freight is a killer.

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