Category Archives: Business

Why did Amazon cancel DPReview?

I think this is why Amazon is shutting down DPReview.com – camera sales crashed and are no longer a growing market opportunity:

Digital cameras interchangeable lens shipments worldwide 2022 | Statista

Amazon is likely seeing a crash in camera sales and revenue – it is no longer a growth market and has not been since 2012.

From Amazon’s perspective, even if DPReview was still profitable, it does not appear to be a revenue growth market. It makes more business sense to invest what money they had in DPReview into growing market opportunities.

The odd item, though, is why did Amazon not put DPReview up for sale? They’ve written it off as if the 25 years of reviews and forum posts have zero $ value. Undoubtedly there are those interested in paying more than $0 for it!

Update: Ultimately, Amazon did sell DPReview and another vendor is now operating DPReview.

3D TV might be returning

When 3D TVs became a thing just over a decade ago, they were an impossible sale:

  • Consumers had just upgraded TVs to HDTV – and were not interested in spending more money
  • There was little 3D content available via special DVDs and DVD players
  • And 2009-2011 was a time when the economy was devastated by the Great Recession

Now, things are different including that 3D content can (or could) be made easily available through streaming media, which was not available a decade ago.

Plus there are new applications for 3D. A decade ago it was for watching 3D movies – today, 3D is for gaming and business applications (think CAD). And, there is VR, which is a natural option for 3D too.

It’s a long shot, but hear us out: The stars are beginning to align for the much-maligned technology.

Source: It’s Time to Make 3D TVs a Thing Again | WIRED

China using #drones to enforce quarantine

Source: China adapts surveying, mapping, delivery drones to enforce world’s biggest quarantine and contain coronavirus outbreak | South China Morning Post

They are being used with sensors to detect people out and about, and to broadcast public health announcements from overhead speakers.

I wonder how long until the AmazonUPSGoogle drone fleets decide to play loud advertising as they fly low over our homes and cities?