解读亚马逊Fire Phone策略：掏空你的钱包

亚马逊在上周发布了大家期待已久的智能手机。这款称为 Fire Phone 的手机的确整合了几种与众不同的技术，例如 Firefly 以及动态视角等新功能着实令人印象深刻。然而，一般的评价如何呢？ 许 多人应该跟我一样对于亚马逊的策略感到费解，甚至有些反感——透过推出自家的硬件(而非以App)的方式，使用户更密切地受制于亚马逊的商店 和与服务。目前市场上存在这么多的智能手机可以选择，消费者为什么会愿意选择一支明显只为亚马逊服务而无法利用 Google Play 等其他商店的 Fire Phone ？

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编码对象数据库 首先来谈谈技术。根据亚马逊表示，整合在这支手机中的 Firefly ，是一种专为以 Fire Phone 相机与麦克风所撷取的数据中“超过1亿种”对象进行辨识而设计的功能。 消 费者必须先为 Fire Phone 指明一种对象。Fire Phone 就会利用在 亚马逊 Web Services cloud 上的数据库扫描该对象、记录其信息以及进行辨识。经过辨识后，该对象将会出现在屏幕上，并出现更多有关的信息——主要是让用户可从亚马逊进行购买的 信息。即使完全未接触到键盘，它也会自动添加到用户的购物车中。 那么，什么是Firefly的基本构建模块？ Envisioneering Group公司研究总监Richard Doherty表示：“高分辨率相机和永不间断的3G与4G服务；或许并不需要四核心的CPU。低光与IR夜视相机。它还需要音频撷取环境声音、音乐、电视 配乐与电影配乐。在后端，你需要一个快速、看似无止尽的亚马逊网络服务(AWS)云端——如亚马逊打造 Firefly 实现快速信息辨识比对的魔力。” Doherty解释，Firefly透过亚马逊巨大且持续增加中的数据库进行影像、条形码、QR Codes、文字(OCR)与声音的比对。 IHS Technology资深总分析师Ian Fogg表示，“Firefly采用可建立影像‘指纹’的软件组合，上传至亚马逊云端数据库进行分析以及回报配对的结果。”不过，这个功能是否只适 用于Fire Phone呢？Ian Fogg表示Firefly是否只适用于Fire智能手机的硬件，目前还不明朗。 本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 第2页：动态视角——在2D屏幕上实现3D效果 第3页：手机降级成网购扫描仪？

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• 亚马逊将推3D智能手机，主打扩增实境电商服务LY7esmc

{pagination} 动态视角 Fire Phone的 3D 接口称为“动态视角”，是另一项值得一提的技术。这种创新的接口利用多台相机在 2D 的4.7吋HD屏幕上实现 3D 效果。 根据Fogg表示，动态视角基本上利用多台相机加上红外线光源进行实时追踪与调整显示器，从而提供生动的效果。然而，他推测，“在同一时间使用至少两台相机，以及需要红外线光源来加强低光强度，可能会影响到 Fire Phone 的电池寿命。” 另 一项挑战是第三方应用程序开发人员。为了开发专为动态视角等新特点量身打造的App，亚马逊需要大量的开发人员。如果少了开发人员的支持， “亚马逊将会面对更少的App支持从而减少Fire的差异化，或者必须负担开发人员为Fire开发原始码的费用，导致亚马逊的成本提高，从而 更难以推展其智能手机策略，”他说。 尽管目前还没有正式的SDK (以动态视角功能而言)，Envisioneering公司的Doherty表示，他预计在本周即将举行的Google IO上可取得更多的细节。

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本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 第3页：手机降级成网购扫描仪？

相关阅读：
• 亚马逊首款智能手机Fire Phone精美图赏
• 亚马逊发布Fire Phone智能手机，不拼硬件拼服务
• 亚马逊将推3D智能手机，主打扩增实境电商服务LY7esmc

{pagination} 手机降级成网购扫描仪？ 现在来谈谈为什么我不那么认同亚马逊的经营策略。不要误会我的意思。我知道如果手机能告诉你所关注事物的更多信息以及帮你决定买或不买是多么的方便。但我知道，亚马逊基本上是将Fire Phone定位为一支可实现24小时购物体验的便携式扫描仪。 没错，这是消费主义的魔法棒，但也存在一些阻力。一支功能已被眨低为一款购物扫描仪的手机算是一种进步吗？这让我难以接受。Fire Phone迫使用户持续以交易的观点来看周遭事物。我喜欢逛街，但并不想住在店内，更不希望自已的手机是专门用来购物的。 Fire Phone 并没有 Google Play 商店也是一大败笔。正如IHS的Fogg指出，这意味着“它缺少消费者希望在智能手机上看到的重要 Google App。”他并补充说，“Android智能手机用户改用 Fire 手机后意味着必须放弃目前所使用的 App 。” 另一个问题是：世界上可用于比对的对象应该超过1亿种吧？的确，他说这只是世界上所有对象数目的一小部分。“但类似的功能也可经由其他智能手机上的Google Goggles App来实现。但这并未被证实是一种吸引人的应用程序。” 总之，我相信“终极”的购物体验应该透过App来实现，而非硬件。网络购物只是智能手机的一种App，但并不是最重要的。 IHS 的Fogg指出：“由于亚马逊的大多数行动客户在近期内仍将继续使用 iPhone 以及其他手机制造商的智能手机产品，因此，如果亚马逊打算扩展销售业务的话，我们建议亚马逊应该尽快让 Firefly 成为一种在其他手机上也能使用的App。” 当然，就像Envisioneering公司的Doherty所说的，亚马逊是“首家最值得信赖的销售和服务公司。”也许是这样没错。但你愿意掏出199美元(Fire Phone 32GB版本的价格)只为了完全受限于单一商店(亚马逊)以及一家电信业者？ 对于亚马逊公司首席执行官Jeff Bezos来说，一支专为网购打造的手机可能意味着重大的进展，但对于我们其他人来说，却可能没那么了不起，甚至还可能害你荷包快速缩水。 本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 编译：Susan Hong 参考英文原文：Amazon’s Fire Phone: It's Good for Bezos, Not So Much for Us，by Junko Yoshida

相关阅读：
• 亚马逊首款智能手机Fire Phone精美图赏
• 亚马逊发布Fire Phone智能手机，不拼硬件拼服务
• 亚马逊将推3D智能手机，主打扩增实境电商服务LY7esmc

{pagination} Amazon’s Fire Phone: It's Good for Bezos, Not So Much for Us Junko Yoshida, Chief International Correspondent 亚马逊 finally unveiled Wednesday (June 18) its long-anticipated smartphone. So, what’s the verdict? Dubbed Fire Phone, it incorporates a couple of differentiated technologies such as Firefly and dynamic perspective. I find them impressive. Yet I don’t think I’m alone regarding 亚马逊’s strategy -- pushing its own hardware, not the app, so closely tied to its own store and services -- somewhat puzzling and even a little offensive. With so many smartphones to choose from, why would any consumers opt for a Fire Phone that’s blatantly self-serving for 亚马逊 and doesn’t even include the Google Play store? Database of coded objects First, let’s talk technology. Integrated in the phone is "Firefly," a feature designed to recognize "over 100 million" items, according to 亚马逊, from the information Fire Phone captures through its cameras and microphone. The consumer is instructed to point the Fire phone at an object. Fire Phone will scan the object, record its information, and identify it, using the database in the 亚马逊 Web Services cloud. Once identified, the item appears on-screen, where more information appears -- mainly that you can buy it from 亚马逊. Just add it to your cart automatically -- without even touching a keyboard. So what are the basic building blocks for Firefly? Richard Doherty, research director at the Envisioneering Group, breaks it down: High-resolution cameras and always-on 3G and 4G services; probably does not need a quad core CPU. Low light level and IR night vision cameras. It needs audio for picking up ambient sound, music, TV soundtrack, movie soundtracks. On the back end, you need a fast, seemingly endless AWS (亚马逊 Web Services) cloud -- as 亚马逊 has architected, for Firefly to work its recognition magic quickly. Firefly works by comparing imagery, bar codes, QR Codes, words (OCR), and sounds within 亚马逊’s massive -- and always growing -- database of coded objects in the AWS cloud, Doherty explains. As Ian Fogg, senior principal analyst at IHS Technology, says, “Firefly is using a combination of on-device software which creates a ‘fingerprint’ of the image, which is small enough to upload and for 亚马逊's cloud database to analyze and report back a match.” However, to my question about whether this feature only works on Fire Phone, Fogg adds that it's unclear if Firefly depends on the Fire smartphone's hardware. Dynamic perspective Fire Phone’s 3D-style interface, called “dynamic perspective,” is another technology worth mentioning. The innovative interface uses multiple cameras to create a 3D effect on a 2D 4.7" HD panel. In essence, the dynamic perspective uses multiple cameras combined with infrared lights to track the owners head in real time and adjust the display to provide a compelling effect, according to Fogg. As interesting as it sounds, this thrill carries a penalty. He speculates, “The use of at least two cameras at a time, and the need for infrared lights to assist in lower light levels may affect the battery life of the Fire smartphone.” Another challenge is third-party app developers. In order to develop apps tailored to such new features as dynamic perspective, 亚马逊 needs a lot of developers. Without a groundswell of developer support, “亚马逊 will either need to accept fewer apps supporting the features and so reduced differentiation for the Fire, or it will have to pay for developers to code for its smartphone, raising 亚马逊's costs and making it even harder to push its smartphone strategy into the black,” he notes. While there is no formal SDK (for dynamic perspective) yet, Envisioneering’s Doherty said that he expects to hear more details at Google IO next week. Reducing a phone to a shopping scanner Now, let’s talk about why I’m not quite thrilled about 亚马逊’s business strategy. Don’t get me wrong. I see the convenience of having your phone tell you what you’re looking at, giving you more information, and helping you decide -- to buy or not buy -- all on your phone. In my mind, 亚马逊 is essentially pitching Fire Phone as a portable scanner for the 24-hour shopping experience. Yes, it’s consumerism’s magic wand. But there’s the rub. A phone whose function has been reduced to a shopping scanner is a kind of progress difficult for me embrace. Fire Phone compels you to view things around you constantly in transactional terms. I love shopping, but I don’t live to shop. I don’t want my phone to be ALL about shopping. Fire Phone not having the Google Play store is also a big negative. As IHS’s Fogg pointed out, that means “it lacks the important Google apps which consumers expect on smartphones.” The analyst adds, “Android smartphone owners [who] switch to Fire will have to leave their existing apps behind.” Not good. Further, this question: Aren’t there more than 100 million objects in the world to look at? Indeed. He says this is just a fraction of the number of objects in the world. “Similar functionality is available on other smartphones through apps such as Google Goggles. It has not proved to be a compelling application. Above all, I believe the “ultimate” shopping experience should be made available as an app, not as hardware. Shopping is a smartphone app, but not the most important app. I think IHS’ Fogg nailed it when he wrote back to me yesterday in an email: Given most of 亚马逊's mobile customers will continue to use iPhones and other smartphone makers' smartphone models for the foreseeable future, we recommend 亚马逊 should make Firefly an app available on other handsets as soon as possible if 亚马逊 is to maximize its retail sales. Sure, as Envisioneering’s Doherty tells me, 亚马逊 is “first and foremost a trusted sales and services company.” Maybe so. But are you going to shell out $199 (the price of the 32GB version of Fire Phone) tied to a single store (亚马逊) and to a single carrier (AT&T)? A phone for shopping might seem like a great leap forward for Jeff Bezos, but probably not so much for the rest of us.