http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/30/technology/personaltech/looking-for-a-design-behind-amazons-devices.html 2014-10-29 15:42:31 Looking for a Design Behind Amazon’s Devices The overall strategy behind the retailer’s hardware lineup appears puzzling; its devices sound fantastic in theory, but often fall short in reality. === Amazon The company usually begins by putting out feelers to test the market. In 2007, it started selling its first e-reader, the Kindle, Amazon now looks to be preparing a full-scale ground invasion of the rest of the gadget landscape. In addition to a new Kindle reader, this year the company entered two new device categories, and it expanded the rest of its hardware lineup. Yet its strategy appears puzzling, with a lineup of tablets and other devices that sound fantastic in theory, but often fall short of greatness in real-world use. Amazon now makes four different kinds of devices. There are dedicated e-readers, multipurpose tablets and, starting this year, a TV streaming device and a smartphone, the Fire Phone. Just this week, Amazon introduced another streaming machine, the Spending time with its devices, as I did recently, offers a peek into But Amazon’s devices also highlight its deep weaknesses. The company seems congenitally blind to the charms of hardware and software design, and it has not yet managed to attract enough partners, including app developers, to expand the utility of its devices. It was the lack of apps, among other flaws, that These shortcomings strain the case for Amazon’s devices. If you are mostly interested in entertainment, and if you are looking for a good deal, it could be a good idea to take a chance on Amazon’s ecosystem, especially its tablets. But if you are looking for more — more flexibility and utility in your gadgets, better design, and primarily assurance that your device will work with whatever great new hardware or software that comes along next — look elsewhere. Consider the On paper, the HDX 8.9 sounds like a great deal. But using it is kind of meh. The HDX sure is thin and light, but because it is made out of a plasticky magnesium alloy — rather than the brushed aluminum of the iPad — it feels a bit rubbery and cheap. More than that, it’s undistinguished, a generic black slab. It looks more like a tablet designed by a minimalist robot than one thought up by a human. But the biggest problem is what to do with this device. As they become squeezed in our lives between bigger phones and better laptops, Amazon’s lower-end Kindle tablets offer a much more compelling case. The company makes six-inch and seven-inch Fire HD tablets that start at $99 and $139; for $50 more, either size comes in a “ Like the HDX, the Fire HDs are boxy and appear generic, and they do not have access to the latest apps. But for that price, it’s hard to quibble with form over function. For people whose only interest in tablets is to consume media, these tablets are great deals. They are pretty speedy, they have passable interfaces, and if you are into watching TV shows and playing games, they sure get the job done. What is Amazon’s endgame with all these devices? Mr. Bezos has always said that his mission, with hardware, is to delight users with devices that are priced fairly. The devices also contribute to “Everything is about getting that flywheel spinning, and it isn’t necessarily about building a big and successful tablet business of their own,” said Benedict Evans, an analyst who works at the investment firm Andreessen Horowitz and And if this year’s devices don’t take off, you can bet that Mr. Bezos will try a slightly different tack next year.