Starting at the end of this month,Amazon will no longer sell the Chromecast or Apple TV.
And thats their right.
Amazon is the notable outlier.
And in fact, Android was meant to be an open platform where people could do exactly that.
The problem is, Google and Amazon still need to occasionally work together.
Google, however, doesnt allow app stores to be distributed on the Play Store.
Google cant vet any apps distributed via third-party app stores, so its risky to allow it.
In response, Googlekicked it out of the Play Store.
The company took a similar approach to distributingthe Amazon Video app, when it finally arrived.
All of this is a mess for consumers, but technically its not reallyharmful.
It could be worse.
And if you have a Chromecast, it is.
At first, it seemed like Amazon just wanted to pushthe Fire TVand its smaller cousin theFire TV Stick.
Roku, XBOX, PlayStation and Fire TV are excellent choices.
The only reason that Prime Video doesnt exist on the Chromecast is because Amazon simply doesnt want it to.
To imply that the Chromecast doesnt interact well with Prime Video is misleading at best.
Chromecastwouldsupport Prime Video just fine…if Amazon wanted it to.
Google allows any app developer to add Chromecast support to their iOS or Android app.
There is no technical or policy limitation that prevents Prime Video from interacting well with the Chromecast.
Amazon still sells PC games, and no ones confused that they dont install on the Kindle Fire.
Of course, corporate competition isnt exactly new.
But Amazon isnt just a technology manufacturerthey want to bethe Everything Store.
Youre suppose to be able to buy almost anything on Amazon.
This ban is a situation entirely of Amazons own making.
Illustration by Jim Cooke.
