Should Microsoft and Amazon put Windows 8 on the Kindle?
A co-worker of mine sent off a Fox News article yesterday about a Former Microsoft employee that is “fixing” Windows 8. After reading the article, my first take away was another person explaining the Windows 8 UI flaws. Seriously? Those articles are a dime a dozen. Whenever you change the user interface of any system there will always be resistance. Don’t believe me? How about when Facebook users were upset about the Facebook UI changes? They didn’t up and leave to Google+ now did they? Rather than dive into what’s right with Windows 8, I’d like to explain my second take away a bit more.
I started to wonder, what if Amazon struck a deal with Microsoft to put Windows 8 on the second generation Kindle Fire? They’d obviously have to give something in return. So what if that something was their cloud offering? I mean, if ScottGu’s team can focus on the Azure UI, but the back end was Amazon, would that be the best of both worlds? My wife has a Kindle Fire. Comparing the screen size to my Samsung Series 7 Windows 8 slate, I can easily see Windows 8 on it. For one, the Kindle does not have Google Apps (unless you root the device). The reason for this is that Google can’t get over Amazon building a better UI than Android. Secondly, think of the power house that Microsoft and Amazon would create. Together, the two of them would help compete against both Apple and Google. Creativity would be injected into both. Let that soak in.
What if Microsoft started offering Amazon Payments, Kindle devices in their Store, and even search capabilities over Amazon’s entire Kindle library? What if Amazon was able to offer an updated and stronger cloud service, a larger footprint for Windows 8 devices, and even Microsoft Advertising across more devices and platforms?
What if?