Noteworthy in today’s Kindle fanfare is the new Amazon Silk browser that will run on the Kindle Fire.
Introducing Amazon Silk | Amazon Silk
Amazon is using its EC2 infrastructure to optimize content before sending it to the browser, similar to what mobile proxy browsers like Opera Mini do. This should make the experience much faster for the user, which is really all that matters. The perception of speed will be huge for Amazon, since the Kindle Fire probably has lower technical specs than its competitors, or at least, that’s the assumption given its low price point.
The larger implication of Silk is interesting. If Silk succeeds, could we see a version for other devices, similarly optimized for all Amazon’s content.
And further, could we see other players with huge capacities do the same. I suppose Chrome already does this to some extent, given that many of its innovations (like SPDY) are meant to make its own services load more quickly. Maybe not by design, but definitely not by accident. Maybe Safari moves in this direction too.
Could a Facebook browser be in the near future? That would make it easier to track a user’s movements around the web.
Thoughts?
Update: Some similar thoughts over at RWW, including the implications of browsing history/habits combined with purchase history, very much like the scary prospect of Google Wallet’s terms.
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