On Wednesday, Amazon introduced the beta version of its new cellular phone store, Amazon Wireless. Essentially, Amazon is trying to leverage its large customer base and online selling power into the competitive wireless arena. After spending some time working with the site, we think the company might be on the right track.
Shopping on Amazon Wireless is a similar process to buying from the carriers on other sites (at least for the beta, only phones and plans from AT&T and Verizon Wireless are being offered), but will have a comfortable familiarity to any of Amazon's regular patrons. After entering your ZIP code and selecting a carrier, you are brought to a page where you select a phone. Here is specifically where the experience has a slight edge, primarily due to Amazon's collection of user-written, star-based ratings and reviews.
Phones are displayed in a relatively large thumbnail format and also have the starting price, which varies depending on whether the customer is signing a new wireless contract or extending an existing one.
After selecting a phone, the available service plans are listed. As with the phone, the selected plan is chosen by adding it to a shopping cart. Finally, the customer is presented with service options, such as data plans and warranties, also selected via shopping cart. If users are renewing an existing plan, they are presented with an additional screen asking for personal information related to their current accounts so the carrier can verify eligibility.
After doing some quick price comparisons to Verizon Wireless' own Web site, it appears that Amazon's pricing is advantageous on some phones, and about on par for others. When pricing is similar, it is primarily due to Verizon's online discount, which is only available to customers willing to purchase via the Web site.
Overall, it appears that Amazon has the potential to benefit from this upgraded store. The interface is easy to use and logical to follow. Additionally, anyone who frequents the main Amazon Web site will already be familiar with the functionality.
As the store is still in beta, Amazon states it will be adding more functionality and options, such as new family plans and additional lines for family plans. It also intends to start offering phones without the requirement of a plan.
While the company doesn't necessarily break new ground with Amazon Wireless, the interface, as well as some better pricing, shows Amazon is serious about being top dog in every market it enters. Other cellular resellers are in for some heavy competition once the site comes out of beta.
Leave a comment below and join our community at community.crn.com to let us know what you think.
|
18 Attention Grabbers From CES Opening Night OK, so the recession is still lurking like a hungry panther, but that doesn't mean people aren't still captivated by the latest gadgets. Although CES 2010 isn't as big as in previous years, exhibitors at a special opening night event Tuesday showed off products that were dazzling, intriguing, and often downright amusing. Here we offer a glimpse of 18 products that had onlookers jostling for a better look. |
|
Hot Products Ready For The 2009 Holiday Season At Pepcom's holiday preview event, we got the jump on many new and interesting products, some presented for the first time ever. Here are a few of our favorites. |
|
Clash Of The E-Book Titans: Sony Reader Vs. Amazon Kindle Vs. Plastic Logic Sony's three new Readers are set to challenge Amazon's Kindle dominance, so we size up Sony Readers, Amazon Kindles and the coming Plastic Logic reader to see who really has the e-reading goods. |
 More
Slide Shows |
