14 DAY TRIAL // Amazon was quite busy updating, revamping and changing the nomenclature of its products a few weeks ago.
For those of you who are not aware, the company's tablet bunch does no longer take advantage of the "Kindle" moniker and will go on to be called just Fire, like the company’s already doomed 3D smartphone.
Seemingly Amazon wants to unify its mobile business (tablets and smartphones) and draw a visible line between its eReaders and slates.
Bezos is looking to put some "Fire" on the Washington Post
On top of that, CEO Jeff Bezos is looking to add something new and steamy to its high-end family of tablets. Some of you might be aware that Bezos recently purchased the Washington Post, and according to a report from Bloomberg, Amazon’s boss wants to turn it into a national publication.
How will he go about that? He’ll make use of Amazon’s own good name and products, of course.
It appears a team inside the Post going by the name “Project Rainbow” has been hard at work for the last few months on an app designed to offer a curated selection of news and photographs aggregated from the newspaper and display it in a tablet-friendly format.
The application will be offered as a free download for owners of the larger (Kindle) Fire HDX 8.9 model of the family, at first.
The Washington Post app will go live for iOS and Android too
But further on, the application will be up for grabs on other tablets, as well as Apple’s popular iPad bunch and a select slew of Android devices, but owners will have to pay a monthly subscription.
Upcoming Fire tablets will come with the application pre-installed from the get-go.
As interest in printed media has faltered in recent times, Bezos’ move in acquiring the paper, which posted 55% profit loss, seemed like an unexplainable move.
However, it seems Bezos has some serious plans for the newspaper and is not listening to negative talk in the media and on the street prophesizing the doom of the Washington Post.
Amazon’s CEO has already hired a slew of over 100 new journalists, while at the same time cutting pensions and other retirement benefits for current employees. The outcome of this strategy seems to be one quite positive and restorative of balance.
And since tablets and eReaders are the products on which Amazon’s has traditionally relied for revenue, it does make sense that Bezos wants to bring them into the picture to help put the Washington Post back on track.
Amazon is hoping the allure of curated-news delivered right on your tablet, in time for your morning coffee might boost the appeal of the newly name Fire bunch. Talk about symbiosis, right?