Amazon Is Preparing for a Lot More Than Tablets

Tim Beyers, The Motley Fool
Updated

While the headlines have Amazon.com (NAS: AMZN) aiming for Apple (NAS: AAPL) and, to a lesser extent, Research In Motion (NAS: RIMM) and Microsoft (NAS: MSFT) with a forthcoming tablet, the truth may very well be that CEO Jeff Bezos wants to fundamentally change the way we find and consume content.

Tablets? Sure, they matter, but not nearly so much as having content and e-commerce services that can be found and consumed, saved, and shared from anywhere. Or at least that's the message I'm getting from an Amazon site redesign. Here's a closer look of the redesign spotted byThe Wall Street Journal:

anImage
anImage

Think broadly about what Amazon is suggesting with this look. Not only is it cleaner, but with less clutter it's likely to be easier to navigate. Pointers are always better off with pages that make it simple to find and activate an icon by touch.

Yet clean screens are also portable. Think of that display showing up on your TV, accompanied by embedded videos. It it really so difficult? Yes, I realize that Web browsers are becoming platforms that embed virtual machines for running software that in years past would have been installed on a PC. Browsers are nevertheless a presentation layer first -- a way to render text and images together.

Deliver a TV-sized Amazon experience to the right box and you have an instant challenger to HSN's (NAS: HSNI) home-shopping empire. You may as well call this effort Amazon Everywhere, and in many ways it copies a certain video-streaming specialist whose service is available on just about any device that's connected to the Web.

It's a smart strategy, and one that Amazon has waited for far too long to embrace. Do you agree? Disagree? Please weigh in using the comments box below. You can also keep tabs on the e-commerce market by adding each of these stocks to your Foolish watchlist:

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributorTim Beyersis a member of theMotley Fool Rule Breakersstock-picking team. He owned shares of Apple, Google, and Oracle at the time of publication. Check out Tim'sportfolio holdingsandFoolish writings, or connect with him onGoogle+or Twitter, where he goes by@milehighfool. You can also get his insightsdelivered directly to your RSS reader.The Motley Fool owns shares of Research In Motion, Microsoft, and Apple.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Microsoft, Amazon.com, and Apple and bull call spread positions in Microsoft and Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2011 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Advertisement