From classics like the Kindle to subtle gadgets, 14 products Amazon sent out in the 'Bezos era'
Amazon's most profitable business may be the cloud infrastructure services it sells to other companies. Yet Amazon also built a huge hardware business during Jeff Bezos' tenure as CEO. Their product range ranges from the truly innovative to the odd.
After hearing the news that Bezos will be stepping down as CEO later this year, WIRED decided to take a look back at the most influential Amazon gadgets of the past 15 years. Amazon rarely reveals how many devices it sells, but the numbers are huge. In addition, there are more than 100 million gadgets that support the voice assistant "Alexa" in the world. Here are some highlights of the product range that came out during the Bezos era.
2007: Electronic book terminal "Kindle"
The first generation "Kindle" was released in 2007. Priced at $400, it was a big, bulky product with oddly slanted keys and a bezel so thick you could see it from outer space. Despite this, it sold out in less than six hours.
At the time, Amazon knew what to do. At the time, the e-book market was in turmoil, with no good way to sell the fledgling e-reader to the media. So Amazon took its usual heavy-handed strategy and made the process seamless. In other words, they sold both hardware and content. All that was left was to sync.
The arrival of the Kindle terrified the publishing industry. Amazon promised to sell most of its bestsellers for $9.99, well below the price of a standard hardcover book.
Related article: Which "Kindle" is the best choice now? 2020 buying guide
This strategy was so extreme that Apple persuaded publishers to sign exclusivity deals with its platform by promising to charge higher prices for books when the original iPad was launched. I tried This led to a historic trial between the US government and Apple, in which Apple was found guilty of inflating prices. Even though Apple lost the lawsuit, it still has greater control than publishers over book pricing.
The Kindle has come a long way since those tumultuous early days. The device has evolved into a clean shape like a light board. Despite competing products like Rakuten's Kobo and Barnes & Noble's Nook, the Kindle still dominates.
It is true that paper books still dominate the market, and e-books account for only one-fifth of all book sales. Still, almost all e-books are sold through Amazon. However, such control has been questioned. In January of this year, Amazon and five major publishers were hit with a class action lawsuit for inflating prices. Moreover, the lawsuit was filed by the same law firm that filed the Apple lawsuit.
* Amazon's "Kindle" series can be purchased from 8,980 yen in Japan.
2011: Tablet "Amazon Fire"
Amazon's first tablet "Amazon Kindle Fire" appeared in November 2011. It is a product intended to compete with the iPad, which was still new.