Sometimes all that's needed to encourage people to recycle is a little incentive. That's why pop cans and beer bottles have deposits, and why Coca-Cola built an arcade machine that runs on empty plastic soda bottles instead of quarters.
...
-- For more information read the original article here.
Pretty soon, it will no longer make sense to call Amazon an e-commerce company, as it moves deeper into both hardware sales and the media business.
And the Kindle Fire offers an important example of how Amazon is locking users into its ecosystem of products, services, and digital content.
Here are some of the key takeaways on the Kindle Fire ecosystem:
- The Kindle has not managed to achieve real scale globally: The Kindle line, including e-readers, took only a 2% share of global tablet shipments in the third quarter of last year, according to BI Intelligence estimates. Due to competition from low-priced Android tablets, Kindle isn't likely to be more than a slice of the tablet market.
- But a massive, global consumer base isn't everything. The Kindle ecosystem accounted for 11% of Amazon's total revenues in 2012, according to Morgan Stanley, including revenues from digital content streaming and downloading, app purchases, and advertising revenues.
- Amazon Prime subscriptions are another key source of Amazon revenue, and Kindle Fires encourage subscriptions because subscribers receive free unlimited video streaming and e-book borrowing. Morningstar estimates that there were more than 10 million total Amazon Prime subscribers in 2012.
- The Amazon Appstore is also generating strong revenue results. Popular Kindle Fire apps are generating 59 cents of revenue for every dollar earned by top apps in the Google Play store, according to a Distimo study. Download volumes are about half those on Google Play for top app titles — impressive considering how many more Android devices are in circulation.
- Amazon's platform is in a major global expansion phase: Amazon is now selling high-end Kindle Fire models in 170 countries and brought the Amazon Appstore online in 200 countries.
- Meanwhile, Amazon's advertising programs on the Kindle Fire also generate nearly $200 million in ad revenue for the company, according to projections.
Access The Full Report And Data By Signing Up For A Free Trial Today >>
The report is full of charts and data that can be easily downloaded and put to use.
In full, the report:
- Contextualizes how Kindles stack up in terms of global and U.S. market share
- Outlines the various revenue sources Amazon has developed around the Kindle Fire line
- Compares Amazon's Appstore to the Google Play store in terms of revenue
- Examines the positive feedback loop between Amazon Kindle Fire usage and Amazon Prime subscriptions
- Looks at how Amazon is expanding internationally to continue propelling Amazon Kindle Fire uptake and thus creating new opportunities to monetize users
Join the conversation about -- For more information read the original article here.
Facebook will soon let people log into third-party mobile apps anonymously, Mark Zuckerberg announced at F8 this afternoon.
Right now when you log into an app with Facebook, the app developer collects a bunch of information about you. If you don't trust the app or you're afraid of spam, it may deter you from using the app or connecting it to your Facebook account.
With Facebook's new anonymous login, the user gets to control how much data — if any — gets shared with the app developer.
Here's how Zuckerberg explained it on stage:
“We know some people are scared of pressing this blue [Log In with Facebook] button. It's some of the most common feedback we get on our platform…If you're using an app that you don't completely trust or you're worried might spam your friends, you're not going to give it a lot of permissions. Even if you don't want an app to know who you are yet, you still want a streamlined process for signing in...So last year, we separated out 'read' and 'publish' permissions. It helped people trust the blue button and sign into apps.”
Zuckerberg says the new anonymous login will allow people to “try apps without fear.”
Anonymous apps have been a hot recent trend in the startup world. Companies like Secret, Whisper and Yik Yak allow people to have no identity on their platforms and post whatever content or messages they want. Facebook's new login feature is a more secure way to keep your data on Facebook, without extending it to third party developers.
Here's what else Zuckerberg announced at F8.
Facebook announced a new developer product called App Links today that lets app developers easily link content between apps together.
Think of it this way: A lot of times links within apps take you to the tiny, mobile version of a website even though the app experience is so much better. For example, if someone sends you a link to a Spotify playlist, wouldn't it be better for it to launch straight into the Spotify app, not the website?
Facebook's App Link allows developers to program their apps to do just that. In short, developers will be able to easily let apps talk to each other, so you're not constantly closing out of one app to access related content in another.
It's a big move that fixes a problem with many mobile devices, especially iPhones and iPads. Apple doesn't let you choose default apps for stuff like maps and Web browsing. You have to use Apple's default apps for those functions. Facebook's App Link will give developers (and you) the power to quickly jump between the apps you want to use.
App Link also works across all the major mobile platforms — iOS, Android, and Windows. That means users won't have any problems no matter what device they're using. In a way, Facebook is using App Links to take control over the way apps talk to each other on smartphones and tablets. Apple, Google, and Microsoft haven't made that very easy for developers, so Facebook did it for them.
In the end, it's going to be better for you. Facebook now has control over the way apps, and content within apps, talk to each other and you're going to get a richer and smoother experience on your phone.
App Link also plays on a theme a lot of smart folks in the mobile industry have been talking about lately: People use apps on their phones more than mobile websites, but so far no one has figured out how to be "the Google of mobile apps." That is, no one has figured out a good way to make your phone's apps talk to each other yet and help users manage content between their apps.
With App Link, Facebook seems to have done just that. And the future implications of that could be huge. Mobile apps are the future of computing, and App Link will give Facebook a lot of control over a lot of what we do on our smartphones, even if they're not directly tied to Facebook.
Basically, Facebook found a way to take over your phone.
Facebook already has a bunch of partners using App Link starting today, including Tumblr, Pinterest, and the popular email app Mailbox. Plus, App Link is open for any developer to use, so expect the list of compatible apps and websites to grow.
SEE ALSO: Facebook figured out how to completely take over your phone