And I'm okay with it.
Some people are a little...let's say unsettled, by the release of Amazon's new tablet. It's called the Amazon Fire and personally, I'm impressed. For just $200 you basically get an iPad, minus the logo and the camera. As much as I love my iPad and cannot leave home without it, I could see myself being as happy and $300 richer with a Fire. No joke.
I'm sure all the die-hard Apple believers out there are just shocked and appalled. But it's not brand loyalty that has so many less than thrilled with Amazon's release.
The product itself is a bit of a hot button for the privacy-paranoid among us.
Maybe it doesn't bother me so much because I have grown up submerged in media. I was in Facebook when it first started. My mom was a reporter and media was part of my life. Being in the know wasn't just fun, it was a job requirement. And whereas I despise the idea of identity theft as much as the next person. And I take what I think are necessary steps to prevent it. But I am in no way offended by the idea of media tracking.
If you didn't know, if you don't log out of Amazon, the site can track your internet activity and will use that information to try and market to your preferences. Ever noticed how eerily you were searching for ideas for an Autumn centerpiece on Better Homes and Gardens, then the next day you log into Amazon and they recommend you check out their awesome autumn centerpieces? Surely, you didn't think that was coincidence. Facebook does the same thing. I don't really see it as an invasion of privacy. To me, it's smart business.
If you owned a business and you could offer every customer that walked through the door EXACTLY what they wanted, wouldn't you want to do that? Yeah. Of course you would. Because pretty much guarantees you a sell every single time the door opens. Again, it's smart business.
So now Amazon has a tablet. The tablet is Amazon's. It uses their browser which pulls off Amazon Cloud to speed up searches. You can fairly well bet that Amazon is going to track the browsing and shopping of every person who buys a Fire. And why wouldn't they?
The biggest question though? WHO CARES?
Do you realize how much simpler Amazon has made my life? There aren't words.
An example: While I didn't do all of my Christmas shopping from them, I narrowed all of my ideas down via the Amazon lists. People post lists of "Favorite toys for Christmas" or "My 1 yo's favorite things" or "Best Toys for a toddler"...you get the idea. I had SOOO many ideas for the girls' presents and Amazon's lists and reviews really helped me narrow it down. Browsing through Amazon's favorite things, I even found my husband's Christmas present. I feel like I really got the perfect presents for my family with Amazon's assistance. And with their low prices, I could compare other sites and stores and got really good deals on everything as well.
Plus, you can get books and movies shipped to your house the day they come out. You can buy digital books, digital music, digital movies, etc and store them on the Amazon Cloud. It's phenomenal! I just wish that Amazon would get over their anti-Apple feelings and be just a little more simpatico with my iPad 2. Basically, I want access to the Amazon AppStore. haha. I love their free app-a-day!
The Amazon Fire is awesome. Gorgeous color touch screen that is supposed to be practically indestructible (Unlike the iPad's!). Everything is easy to access and totally synced. The system is smooth and sleek and has Wi-Fi.
So, yeah, I'm all for my activities being tracked. It makes my life easier! The simplicity and convenience is totally worth that minuscule loss of privacy.
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