Amazon Kindle Cloud Reader

Amazon finds a promotional ad unit they like... and they stick to it. I've written before about Amazon effectively selling the "buy / create once, access anywhere" tagline. It's simple and it speaks to: Amazon being more open / compatible than most, and Amazon's content being portable - 'don't lose content you've already purchased'

Here is the promotion for the Kindle Cloud Reader - meaning purchases are accessible via browser, app, and Kindle. And the Cloud Reader itself is accessible anywhere the browser is ... in other words, everywhere:

And here is Amazon's Could Player unit:

Here is the original Kindle promotion:

Most Important Part of iPhone 4S Announcement: iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 Pricing.

When Amazon announced the new Kindle product line and the $199 Kindle Fire - I declared that Amazon did more than introduce a disruptive product... they changed the non-iPad market with remarkably disrupitive pricing:

A week later, Apple announced the iPhone 4S. In my opinion, the most important part of the announcement is their new pricing: iPhones starting at $0.00, $99 and $199 (iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S). That's more important than any feature because it opens Apple's market far wider than either the improved camera or Siri do. Furthermore, it makes them competitive with Android - who has been winning in large part due to pricing and network availability.

Amazon Kindle Fire: $199. RIM Playbook: $299 after 40% Discount.

There are several reasons why Amazon's new Kindle Fire - and the larger Kindle line - is disruptive (my take here). For non-Apple tablets, the Kindle Fire is much more than disruptive: it's killer.

Proof is right here. Below is Best Buy's huge discount on the RIM Playbook ($299 sale, normally $499). Despite that 40% discount, the Playbook is *still* 50% more expensive than the Kindle Fire. And that's before you begin comparing the two devices... I would pay a premium for the Fire vs. the Playbook.

Product is clearly important. But for mass consumption, price wins. And Amazon has won the non-iPad market by radically undercutting it.

Amazon's Kindle Fire: Great Product Page, Free Amazon Prime Trial

Amazon's $199 tablet, the Kindle Fire, is now available for pre-order. The product page is really terrific: colorful, informative, fun and all on a single page. It's great:

The Kindle itself is super appealing because of the price point (side track: but low price and being hardware agnostic is why Android has won such tremendous market share. Even if the iPad is a better product - and it may well be - the Fire's price point is so different that they functionality cannot be compared. If shopping for a Toyota Prius, you don't consider quality as compared to a Mercedes sedan).

The smartest bundle and promotion is Amazon's inclusion of 30 days of free Amazon Prime. Brilliant. Their goal is to make the Fire your home shopping device - and what better way to train users of that potential??

The Web as One Big App Store.

There is nothing groundbreaking about what I am about to say... but: it is easy to overlook how simple and powerful making purchases with a single-click is. You can download music, movies and rentals with a single click. No credit card number.

No lengthy registration / shipping addresses.

Nearly every book title is available via Amazon or iTunes through a single click. The content is delivered wirelessly in seconds.

The same holds true for video games and, now, an entire world of software.

In fact, Mac's App Store is what hit this point home for me: downloading software applications for your desktop / browser is really a powerful experience. You can now buy software with the same one-click, light-weight process that music, books and mobile apps are purchased. And it is delivered over the web and instantly.

It is hard to describe why this is a unique / 'cool' feeling... after all, I've purchased software online before. But, until the Mac App Store, it had not been so effortless, painless and fun. And it's thanks to both Apple and the developers / cloud movement, which allows us to access myriads of content (much being lightweight) so rapidly.

And it's just the beginning. Other major app stores will emerge (ie Chrome, Amazon) and Facebook Credits will play an enormous role as it will enable all websites to become their own one-click storefront.

Amazon Cloud Player: Buy Once, Listen Everywhere

Amazon's marketing message for the Kindle is simple: buy once, read everywhere. It's a compelling selling-point and the reason why othr services with similar propositions (ala Evernote) are so popular. The promo unit shows seven devices ... all running the Kindle application.

Similarly, Evernote's promotion can be describe as "write once, read anywhere". The marketing graphic looks similar: the application across different devices:

So it's no surprise that the Amazon Cloud Player marketing unit looks almost exactly the same as the Kindle's: "Play your music anywhere."

It's also not surprising that "Access Anywhere" is the core value proposition of cloud-based services. And it's interesting to see how that proposition is similarly - and effectively - conveyed across different applications and brands.

Amazon Marketing the Kindle for Valentines Day 2011... with Same Ads as 2010

Since its launch, I have followed Amazon's Kindle ads and campaigns. Today, you will notice that Amazon is marketing the Kindle for Valentines Day... and if you look back a year ago, you will also notice that the Kindle ads are almost exactly the same. Furthermore, the language is consistent with nearly every Kindle ad to date: it's their best selling, best-reviewed and most wanted / gifted product. It seems that, even after a year, Amazon is confident in wrapping the same messaging in seasonal units.

The Kindle ads for Valentines 2011:

The Kindle ad for Valentines 2010:

The Borders eReader Counter: Too Many Options?

This is the counter at my local Borders for "eReaders". There are countless devices, prices, preferences, etc. If you are in the market for one of these devices, would you rather sift through all these options or pick the trusty and ultra-popular Kindle by Amazon? It's a similar situation to Android vs. iPhone. While there is absolutely an advantage in the cross device platforms (including lower prices for consumers) - it also creates headaches. There are so many Android handsets that it creates confusion... and it can create quality issues across the plethora of devices: some are great and some are sub-par.

And the same situation will occur as tablets become more prevelant / popular. Consumers will need to choose between dozens of options (hardware & software) and the iPad (a popular, trusted product that will likely come at a premium).

Amazon Kindle: Buy Once, Read Anywhere

I have written before about Amazon's Kindle Ad Units - which are usually excellent. Here is the latest - and you will notice the similarity in prior units. Nevertheless, I love the tagline "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" because: 1. it sums up the Kindle's value proposition perfectly (they won't win on device, but portability is a big positive)

2. it leverages the success of other platforms - namely Apple (iPhone, iPad, Mac) and Android

3. it sums up so much of what consumers, publishers and developers alike are facing: the multi-platform conundrum (ie write once, read anyhwere)