Cover via Amazon
Why the Kindle Fire Succeeds Where Honeycomb Tablets Fail
The Kindle Fire overcomes one of the major hurdles for Android tablets: It tells us what we’re supposed to do with it.
By Sascha Segan
This holiday season, most Americans won’t be buying Samsung Galaxy Tabs or Acer Iconias. They’ll be buying Amazon Kindle Fires. That’s because Amazon has learned a lesson other Android tablet manufacturers haven’t: Tell buyers what you’re supposed to do with the darn thing.
The Fire’s $199 price will be a big component of its success, but it’s not the only thing that makes the Fire compelling. If you’re trying to introduce a new product category to Americans—and even with the iPad around, tablets are a new product category—you have to explain to people why they want it, in clear terms and without overwhelming them.
This has been a big problem for Android tablet vendors so far because Android tablets do everything, and they appear to be marketed by engineers. Take this Samsung Galaxy Tab commercial.
“It’s time for an optimized email environment. Augmented reality and navigation services with a large display. A full Web browsing experience. E-reading solutions, and a complete communications solution.”
Really? Is it really time for an optimized environment with solutions? No. It is time to get your e-mail and read books. Also, nobody knows what “augmented reality” is.
The Tyranny of Choice
I love the Acer Iconia Tab A100, but when you boot it up, it isn’t clear what you’re supposed to do with it. The standard Android Honeycomb home screen is pretty bare; it’s yours to configure, which means it’s yours to sit stupefied in front of while you’re overwhelmed by the tyranny of choice.
Yes, yes, I know that none of you reading this column are ever overwhelmed by the tyranny of choice. You exhilirate in choice and are angered when anyone restricts your choice. But you are the early-adopter elite. Most people want more hand-holding than you do.
It says something that the most successful Android tablet so far in the U.S. has been the Barnes & Noble Nook Color. At $249, the Nook Color isn’t the cheapest Android tablet; you can get less-expensive tablets at your local general store. But the Nook Color explains its purpose clearly: Now it’s time to read some books.
Here’s What to Do
The Kindle Fire does the same thing. When you start it up, here’s what you see: the words “Newsstand, Books, Music, Video, Docs, Apps, Web.” There are seven things to do here, and the list starts with the least perplexing and abstract. I can use this for news, books, and music. Great! I’ll get some color picture books for my kid. Maybe eventually I’ll buy an app. Apple’s iPad commercials have explained apps to me.
Every one of those words ties directly into a store, so it’s easy to get content for the tablet, another strike against most Android tablets, which at best separate their stores and players into different apps. And Amazon, as many people have said, probably already has your credit card on file.
The Kindle Fire has a very smooth purchase-and-use path. Boot, choose from a curated list of options, buy something, enjoy. It’s different enough from the successful iPad in size, usage and price that this holiday season may finally see us go from a one-tablet nation to a two-tablet zone. Anyone else trying to break through with a tablet should take a lesson from Amazon here. Tell us what it’s for.
taken from:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2393768,00.asp
