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Amazon Follows Through: Drops Apple TV, Chromecast
Hot Hardware notes that Amazon has stopped selling two pieces of hardware -- Apple TV and Google's Chromecast -- that compete with Amazon's own streaming business. (They promised to drop them a while back; not everyone though they actually would.) From the article: While some have likened this move to being anti-competitive, it's hard to grasp whether the legal system would agree. Amazon's defense is that since these devices don't support Prime Video, it doesn't want to sell products to its customers and have them assume that they will."
Amazon's defense is that since these devices don't support Prime Video, it doesn't want to sell products to its customers and have them assume that they will.
Never mind the fact that Amazon seems to intentionally not be developing for either device, when smaller streaming services support Apple TV and the Chromecast API is open?
If you want an anti-trust lawsuit, usually you need political connections, and better political connections than your opponent. And Amazon keeps up on their payments, to both parties.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Here is the response I received from Amazon when I contacted customer service: Amazon Your Account Amazon.com Message From Customer Service Hello, I am sorry for the inconvenience you experienced in this case. After looking into your inquiry about the item new Apple TV that you could not find in the website, I feel we could best resolve this concern for you over the phone so that we can help you locate the item. This way, you can speak to our live customer support team who can ensure we resolve this concern to your satisfaction. I realize that, at this point, asking you to contact us again would be disappointing; however, we really feel that the best way to assist you with this concern is over the phone. Your patience and understanding are greatly appreciated. So in this case, I request you to please visit the following link, enter your phone number through the Phone tab, and we'll call you: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help... We're available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Please be rest assured that we are here to make things easier for you and we'll take every action to prevent you from bearing any loss. On a personal level, I highly appreciate your patience, cooperation and understanding in this matter. It is our privilege to have you as our valued customer & we want to make sure you are always taken care of. Thanks for your cooperation. We'd appreciate your feedback. Please use the links below to tell us about your experience today. Best regards, Johann S.
But Amazon would be happy to sell me another one...
We have been instructed not to create a record of our communication with you. We realize that this record could be used against in court or in public. Phone calls are less likely to be used against us in court or in public.
What if I buy a Prime-capable device, but I'm not a Prime customers. Won't I be confused?
Too late.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Yes, when a customer trades in a Chevy, they'll put that car on sale.
So your analogy is silly.
Since of course the reason those devices don't support Prime Video is that Amazon decided not to provide Prime Video on those devices, unlike say Netflix, Hulu, and every other streaming provider under the sun.
no, they will sell it on their own lot (if the car is good enough)
source- family owned car dealerships my whole life, worked at a number of them
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
That's what anti-competitive capitalists really lust after, total lock in and unlimited profit with crappy products. None of this level playing field and competing on price and service. And to a great extent their wishes have been granted. Look at the entire US banking and Wall Street economic sector, pharmaceuticals, telcos, agribusiness, brewing (the two biggest brewing groups in the world want to merge), ad nauseam.
Amazon doesn't own the internet, no more then ABC owns the broadcast bandwidth that they use. Broadcast TV providers are allowed to use a common resource when they follow the rules, pay their taxes and fees, and engage in honest business. So why the hell is Amazon, or any of these other scum sucking pigs, allowed to have their walled garden carved out of the open common resource that is the internet?
It's just more of the DMCA crap, or the upcoming TPP. Corrupt insiders are writing the rules so that they have permanent control, no competition, no oversight and guaranteed high profit margins. The game is rigged, and the less you have the more they have. Out of your pocket, into theirs.
Why is Snark Required?
Small time used car shops sell all types of cars, manufacture branded dealerships do not.
I keep looking for that "Factually Incorrect" mod option, and I can never find it.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
That would be a good argument, except for one thing: Amazon owns Internet shopping, Apple does not. That's what anti-trust law is all about: making sure that companies that have a dominant position in the market don't abuse their power.
Apple does have a monopoly on the Apple AppStore. So if Apple decided not to allow any apps that Amazon produces (like Amazon Shopping), then that would be a very similar abuse of Apple's power, the other direction.
The point is, the rules change when you dominate a particular segment of the market. When that happens, it's no longer OK to play hardball with your competition.
Since Amazon has decided to play hardball, maybe Google and Apple should yank Amazon's Shopping app for the app stores.
It's not your wonderland imaginary version of capitalism that has never happened anywhere in the world, no, but it's what capitalism always results in. Deny the empirical evidence all you want, but unfettered capitalism has always lead to monopolies, lock-in and massive abuses of power.