Is Another Platform Necessary?
I had talked yesterday about how the Amazon Echo is like those GPS units that people used to buy for their car. Emphasis on “used to buy”. People decided that they didn’t want to worry about another device that didn’t integrate into their car or phone. The same argument applies to Alexa.
Whether you’re on iOS or Android you have chosen an ecosystem that contains all facets of your life from an informational standpoint. It has everything from your contacts, to-do lists, calendar, and media. And both iOS and Android even have voice assistance already. But competition is a beautiful thing and someone else saw an opening.
Amazon was able to leapfrog Siri and Google by correctly focusing on the big pain point, the microphone. And there is also a complete lack of security compared to something like the robust system built into Apple’s HomeKit. This allowed companies who are prone to taking the quick and easy route to flock to the Echo.
But Amazon is trying to cultivate an entire platform that doesn’t integrate with either iOS or Android. It’ll integrate with your appliances but not your personal data. This is problematic for them on two fronts.
First, not having access to your personal data puts it at a disadvantage with controlling various appliances. The Echo may be able to turn on your stereo but what if Siri could turn it on and play whatever song was last playing on your phone when you shut off your car? What if Google Home could remind you that need to leave the house in fifteen minutes for a doctor appointment when you set your oven for 60 minutes? The Echo is walled off from all the details of your life and never shall the two meet.
Second, they’re fighting history if they think that people are willing to juggle a new platform that doesn’t integrate with their “master platform”. People are generally lazy. Once they had GPS built-in to either their car or phone they didn’t really want to worry about messing with another device. Once people can get the same type of voice-activated functionality from iOS or Android do they really want to worry about another system?
Google already has a direct competitor to the Echo with their Home. And Apple trumps both Google or Android with a pervasive presence advantage. Apple is sitting on your desk with your Mac or Apple TV, they’re on your wrist with the most successful smartwatch, and now Apple can be directly in your ears. It’s only a matter of time before both Google and Apple leapfrog Amazon. Google arguably already has.
Tom Tom had a small window where no one else could offer the same thing. But that window closed in a few years. Amazon is currently shining in their small window, but it’s closer to the end then the beginning.
Amazon was able to leapfrog Siri and Google by correctly focusing on the big pain point, the microphone. And there is also a complete lack of security compared to something like the robust system built into Apple’s HomeKit. This allowed companies who are prone to taking the quick and easy route to flock to the Echo.
But Amazon is trying to cultivate an entire platform that doesn’t integrate with either iOS or Android. It’ll integrate with your appliances but not your personal data. This is problematic for them on two fronts.
First, not having access to your personal data puts it at a disadvantage with controlling various appliances. The Echo may be able to turn on your stereo but what if Siri could turn it on and play whatever song was last playing on your phone when you shut off your car? What if Google Home could remind you that need to leave the house in fifteen minutes for a doctor appointment when you set your oven for 60 minutes? The Echo is walled off from all the details of your life and never shall the two meet.
Second, they’re fighting history if they think that people are willing to juggle a new platform that doesn’t integrate with their “master platform”. People are generally lazy. Once they had GPS built-in to either their car or phone they didn’t really want to worry about messing with another device. Once people can get the same type of voice-activated functionality from iOS or Android do they really want to worry about another system?
Google already has a direct competitor to the Echo with their Home. And Apple trumps both Google or Android with a pervasive presence advantage. Apple is sitting on your desk with your Mac or Apple TV, they’re on your wrist with the most successful smartwatch, and now Apple can be directly in your ears. It’s only a matter of time before both Google and Apple leapfrog Amazon. Google arguably already has.
Tom Tom had a small window where no one else could offer the same thing. But that window closed in a few years. Amazon is currently shining in their small window, but it’s closer to the end then the beginning.
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