Amazon’s – convenience store, grocery store or retail store – Amazon Go Prepared by: Celeste Ng Direct quotes from source: Amazon, 2017, URL: https://www.amazon.com/b?node=16008589011#

Source: https://www.amazon.com/b?node=16008589011#

What is Amazon Go? A new kind of store with no checkout required. The world’s most advanced shopping technology With [Amazon] Just Walk Out Shopping experience, simply use the Amazon Go app to: enter the store, take the products you want, and go! No lines, no checkout. (No, seriously.)

How does Amazon Go work? is made possible by the same types of technologies used in self-driving cars: computer vision (is an interdisciplinary field that deals with how computers can be made for gaining high-level understanding from digital images or videos --- source: Wikipedia, 2017), sensor fusion (a process by which data from several different sensors are "fused" to compute something more than could be determined by any one sensor alone. An example is computing the orientation of a device in three-dimensional space --- source: Wikipedia, 2017), and deep learning. Just Walk Out Technology automatically detects when products : are taken from or returned to the shelves and keeps track of them in a virtual cart. When you’re done shopping, you can just leave the store. Shortly after, we’ll charge your Amazon account and send you a receipt.

What do I need to get started? What can I buy at Amazon Go? You need an Amazon account, a supported smartphone, and the free Amazon Go app. Offer: ready-to-eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack options made fresh every day grocery essentials ranges from staples like bread and milk to artisan cheeses and locally made chocolates. quick home-cooked dinner

Prepared by: Celeste Ng Amazon.com Prepared by: Celeste Ng Direct quotes from source: The Economist, 25th March 2017, “Amazon, the world’s most remarkable firm, is just getting started,”URL: http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21719487-amazon-has-potential-meet-expectations-investors-success-will-bring-big

Amazon (1) The former bookseller accounts for more than half of every new dollar spent online in America. It is the world’s leading provider of cloud computing. This year Amazon will probably spend twice as much on television as HBO, a cable channel. Its own-brand physical products include batteries, almonds, suits and speakers linked to a virtual voice-activated assistant that can control, among other things, your lamps and sprinkler.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-suit-reviews-2016-3

Amazon's virtual personal assistant – Alexa (+ Echo) Alexa, Amazon's virtual personal assistant, has been around for about two years, and it keeps getting smarter. It lives inside the company's Echo smart speaker, among other devices, and offers users the ability to dictate commands to the assistant to control products throughout their home, listen to music, and more. Alexa is ... designed to compete with the likes of Apple's Siri, Google Now, and others. Alexa, which was designed by Amazon's secretive Lab126, can listen to your voice commands and respond with contextual responses to help you get the job done. Alexa can help you listen to tracks on Spotify, create to-do lists, shop, and even control your smart home products, like Google's Nest thermostat or the Philips Hue. Alexa was popularized by the Amazon Echo, a device that acts both as a speaker and a smart-home hub, but also works on many other devices. Like other virtual assistants, Alexa has its fair share of trouble understanding user commands and responding accurately. However, because it's a cloud-based service, Amazon is continually updating Alexa's intelligence to overcome some challenges. As machine learning becomes more sophisticated, look for Alexa to become more intelligent. Amazon Echo is ... an internet-connected speaker that sits in your home and listens for you to give it instructions.  Source: TechRadar deals, March 2017, http://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-amazon-echo-and-amazon-echo-dot-deals Source: Don Reisinger Nov 7, 2016, Who (or What) Is Alexa? We Explain Amazon's Digital Assistant, URL: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/amazon-alexa-faq,review-4016.html

Amazon (TV) Channels (source: Don Reisinger Jan 9, 2017, http://www What Is Amazon Channels: Amazon Channels is a collection of streaming services you can subscribe to via Amazon. You need only to go to the Amazon Channels page, find out which content providers are offering their content through the service, and you're off. How Much Does Amazon Channels Cost: Amazon Channels is free to access for Prime members, but you'll need to pay individual subscription fees for individual channels. So for instance, if you want access to HBO, you'll get a 30-day free trial and then you'll be required to pay $14.99 per month for access to that programming. If you only want access to PBS Kids, however, you'll need to pay $4.99 per month. Simply put, think of Amazon Channels as a hub to access other streaming services. Is This Different Than Amazon Video: Amazon Channels is part of the broader Amazon Video service. Amazon Video is the catch-all for Amazon's many video-streaming and purchase services. Amazon Channels is part of Amazon Video, allowing you to access content and stream it all through the Amazon Video interface.

Amazon Video – (1) Source: Marshall Honorof Mar 9, 2017, “Best Streaming Video Services 2017,” URL: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-streaming-video-services,review-2625.html

Amazon Video – (2) Source: Marshall Honorof Mar 9, 2017, “Best Streaming Video Services 2017,” URL: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-streaming-video-services,review-2625.html

Amazon Video – (3) Source: Marshall Honorof Mar 9, 2017, “Best Streaming Video Services 2017,” URL: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-streaming-video-services,review-2625.html

Amazon Video – (4) Source: Marshall Honorof Mar 9, 2017, “Best Streaming Video Services 2017,” URL: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-streaming-video-services,review-2625.html

Amazon (2) – Profit projected in the future Since the beginning of 2015 its share price has jumped by 173%, seven times quicker than in the two previous years (and 12 times faster than the S&P 500 index). With a market capitalization of some $400bn, it is the fifth-most-valuable firm in the world. ..... while making so little money: 92% of its value is due to profits expected after 2020. That is because investors anticipate both an extraordinary rise in revenue, from sales of $136bn last year to half a trillion over the next decade, and a jump in profits. The hopes invested in it imply that it will probably become more profitable than any other firm in America.

Amazon (3) – Principal businesses Mr [Jeff] Bezos emphasizes continual investment to propel its two principal businesses, e-commerce and Amazon Web Services (AWS), its cloud-computing arm. [The future of Principal businesses:] (1) In e-commerce, the more shoppers Amazon lures, the more retailers and manufacturers want to sell their goods on Amazon. That gives Amazon more cash for new services—such as two-hour shipping and streaming video and music—which entice more shoppers. (2) Similarly, the more customers use AWS, the more Amazon can invest in new services, which attract more customers. (3) A third virtuous circle is starting to whirl around Alexa, the firm’s voice-activated assistant: as developers build services for Alexa, it becomes more useful to consumers, giving developers reason to create yet more services.

Amazon (4) – Competitors The company’s list of current and possible competitors, ... Includes: logistics firms, search engines, social networks, food manufacturers and producers of “physical, digital and interactive media of all types”.