4 ms·

As a professional platform builder, I’m always amazed at how good of a piece of hardware Amazon has made, with how limited it’s platform experience is Kindles

by cgb223 4y ago

As a professional platform builder, I’m always amazed at how good of a piece of hardware Amazon has made, with how limited it’s platform experience is Kindles can only (easily) do what Amazon wants it to do —full stop. It’s like the iPhone before the App Store. I bet Amazon would make a massive amount of money if they opened up their ecosystem to let others develop on top of it

criddell 4y ago
I bet it wouldn't move the needle. Their books/Kindle ratio might even drop. Although I know my Kindle is really a computer, I don't want it to act like one. I want a dedicated and narrowly focused ereader. If I were head of that division at Amazon, I'd remove bluetooth, APIify the bookstore (so you can buy books from other retailers), remove GoodReads integration, and direct the hardware people to focus on battery life and the software people to focus on layout and typography. I'd also add a physical switch to enable/disable the touchscreen. All Kindles would have physical page turn buttons like the Oasis does.
- FinalBriefing 4y ago
  I think I agree. I'm glad my Kobo doesn't have a Twitter app. Kobo's Pocket integration is nice, so I can read through articles I've saved on my computer/phone without distraction. There's also an Overdrive store so I can browser and borrow books from my local library without jumping through hoops. Would it be nice to support alternatives to Overdrive and Pocket? Sure, but once you open the doors to any third-party apps, it's hard to keep the focus on books.
donio 4y ago
They have done just that with their Android based non-eink Kindle Fire line. They run their own app store and it's not great. Imagine having all the junk of the Play market but with most of the good stuff missing. The only reason I use mine is because it's possible to install the F-Droid and Play apks so you can use it more or less like a regular Android tablet. I use my regular e-ink kindle 100% offline, I never turn off airplane mode. I only load content via USB using the Calibre CLI. I don't want my Kindle to do cool stuff. I used to think I did, I rooted my early Kindles and tried to do as much on them as possible. But then I realized that it's only a distraction from the one thing the Kindle is actually good at: reading long static text documents.
protonbob 4y ago
In fact, they used to allow people to create apps for the Kindle, but they took away that ability later.
- popcalc 4y ago
  I faintly remember a load of bingo and bejeweled clone shovelware circa 2012.

by cgb223 4y ago

criddell 4y ago

I bet it wouldn't move the needle. Their books/Kindle ratio might even drop. Although I know my Kindle is really a computer, I don't want it to act like one. I want a dedicated and narrowly focused ereader. If I were head of that division at Amazon, I'd remove bluetooth, APIify the bookstore (so you can buy books from other retailers), remove GoodReads integration, and direct the hardware people to focus on battery life and the software people to focus on layout and typography. I'd also add a physical switch to enable/disable the touchscreen. All Kindles would have physical page turn buttons like the Oasis does.

FinalBriefing 4y ago
I think I agree. I'm glad my Kobo doesn't have a Twitter app. Kobo's Pocket integration is nice, so I can read through articles I've saved on my computer/phone without distraction. There's also an Overdrive store so I can browser and borrow books from my local library without jumping through hoops. Would it be nice to support alternatives to Overdrive and Pocket? Sure, but once you open the doors to any third-party apps, it's hard to keep the focus on books.

donio 4y ago

They have done just that with their Android based non-eink Kindle Fire line. They run their own app store and it's not great. Imagine having all the junk of the Play market but with most of the good stuff missing. The only reason I use mine is because it's possible to install the F-Droid and Play apks so you can use it more or less like a regular Android tablet. I use my regular e-ink kindle 100% offline, I never turn off airplane mode. I only load content via USB using the Calibre CLI. I don't want my Kindle to do cool stuff. I used to think I did, I rooted my early Kindles and tried to do as much on them as possible. But then I realized that it's only a distraction from the one thing the Kindle is actually good at: reading long static text documents.

protonbob 4y ago

In fact, they used to allow people to create apps for the Kindle, but they took away that ability later.

popcalc 4y ago
I faintly remember a load of bingo and bejeweled clone shovelware circa 2012.