????在推出Fire Phone智能手機進軍移動電子市場的嘗試遭遇失敗后，亞馬遜似乎開始反思自己能否成為一家大型硬件制造商。就在上周，該公司解聘了幾十名手機部門的工程師，這是亞馬遜硬件部門Lab126近 11年來首次裁員。

????從Fire Phone這類硬件產品中全身而退，可能是亞馬遜做出的最明智的決定。這家公司最成功的產品往往與他們出售的軟件產品緊密結合在一起，比如Kindle電子書，為廣受好評的無線音箱Echo提供Amazon Prime Music服務。

????通過提供方便和快捷的服務——從Amazon Prime免費兩日送達服務，到Amazon Locker包裹自提柜——以及透明的數字銷售環境，亞馬遜積累了超過4000萬名用戶。

????Current Analysis公司分析師艾維?格林加特表示：“電子閱讀器、平板電腦和電視機頂盒都專注于內容消費，這是亞馬遜最具競爭力的領域。值得一提的是，亞馬遜也是最早進入這些產品領域的公司之一，而不是隨大流推出受歡迎產品的跟風者。”

????一款像Fire Phone這種專注于亞馬遜自身服務（而不是像其他安卓手機那樣運行）的產品，要求用戶調整對智能手機的期望，而不是提高期望。

????行業分析師杰夫?卡干表示：“Fire Phone從未抓住用戶的想象力。這里也要提一句，Facebook的智能手機也是如此。”

????兩款產品失敗的原因非常類似：“他們優先考慮的是自己公司的喜好，而不是用戶的喜好。就像卡干所說：“用戶可以用自己手機應用在亞馬遜網站下單，這才是他們想要的。”就算要把各種產品全部賣給顧客，該公司也幾乎不需要特別的設備。

????在硬件領域，尤其是移動產品上，已經有許多競爭力十足的智能手機品牌了——蘋果、三星和許多其他公司都可以做得更好。而亞馬遜擅長的，是把音樂、視頻和Kindle內容通過一系列兼容設備無縫遞送給用戶，消除任何有可能阻止用戶購買該公司產品的障礙。

????一個例外可能是廚房設備Kabinet。據《華爾街日報》報道，這款設備正處于開發階段。它將會作為一個管理任務的聯網中樞，實現在亞馬遜網站下訂單等功能。在這個領域，亞馬遜無需與其他根深蒂固的品牌競爭，實際上，公司等于是開發了一項新設備直接用于產品提供，同時還能滿足忙碌的家庭需要。

????從長期來看，這次失敗對亞馬遜意味著什么？卡干表示：“我不認為它會影響公司的未來。亞馬遜已經非常壯大了，它還會繼續發展下去。”（財富中文網）

????譯者：嚴匡正

????審校：任文科

????After an unsuccessful foray into the mobile electronics market with the Fire Phone, Amazon appears to be rethinking its ambitions to become a major hardware maker. Just last week, the company let go dozens of engineers who worked on the flop of a smartphone—marking the first layoffs in 11 years for Amazon’s Lab126 hardware unit.

????Backing away from hardware like the Fire Phone is the smartest thing Amazon could do. The company’s greatest product successes have been those that tie directly into the software offerings it sells, such as ebooks for the Kindle and Amazon Prime Music for the well-received Echo speaker.

????Amazon’s amassed more than 40 million users by offering convenience and speed—from free two-day shipping with Amazon Prime to package pickup with Amazon Locker—in addition to selling everything under the sun via its digital storefront.

????“e-Readers, tablets, and TV set top boxes are all focused on content consumption, where Amazon is more competitive,” says Avi Greengart, an analyst at Current Analysis. It’s also worth noting that Amazon has been an early entrant in many of these product categories, not an also-ran introducing its own take on a popular device.

????A product like the Fire Phone, which focuses on Amazon’s own services rather than functioning like any other Android phone, requires users to adjust their expectations of a smartphone rather than raise them.

????“The Fire Phone simply never caught the imagination of users,” says industry analyst Jeff Kagan. “Then again, neither did Facebook’s smartphone.”

????Both products failed for similar reasons: They put the company’s priorities ahead of users’ preferences. As Kagan says, “Users can order on Amazon.com from their smartphone with the app and that is what they want.” To sell its vast selection of products to customers, the company hardly needs specialized devices.

????When it comes to hardware—especially mobile, with so many competitive smartphones already on the market—Apple, Samsung, and many others can do it better. What Amazon can do better is seamlessly deliver its music, video, and Kindle content to users across a range of compatible devices, without any friction that could prevent customers from purchasing the company’s products.

????One exception to the rule may be Kabinet, a device for the kitchen which, WSJ reports, is in development. The product will serve as an Internet-connected hub for managing tasks such as ordering items on Amazon. Here, though, the company wouldn’t be competing with other well-established products; rather, it would be developing a new device that ties directly into its product offerings while addressing the needs of a busy household.

????As to what Amazon’s latest consumer-electronics flop could mean in the long term, Kagan says, “I don’t think this will have an impact on the company’s future. Amazon has grown and will continue to grow.”