Amazon UnBox UnSane

Filed in archive Commentary on September 12, 2006

I was gentle with the Amazon UnBox yesterday a few days ago (Amazon Dives Into Busy Download Video Market), my only snarky comment on the silly name. I received a few emails baiting me by asking what I really thought. C'mon folks, you know the drill. Obviously it's a LAME consumer-unfriendly offering. There isn't and won't be much of market. But don't blame Amazon for trying. They have plenty of money to lose. Hollywood is calling the shots.

I'll leave the potshots to John Paczkowski at Good Morning Silicon Valley.

It only works on Windows. Copy protection galore. Limited usage. Relatively high prices compared to alternatives. Rather than making the content portable, you basically get to download two files: one that must stay on the computer you downloaded it on, and one that can be transferred to an approved (i.e., has Windows media copy protection) mobile device. You can burn the movie to a DVD... but it's of almost no additional value, since that DVD will only play on the computer you downloaded the movie to." No DVD playback. PC-only experience. Those are some daunting restrictions - never mind that the service's pricing structure has it peddling "Rumor has it," which retails on DVD for about $15, for $19.62.