Amazon - The Everything Store. And Bezos means EVERYTHING

The last several months have been big for Amazon. Most recently, the so-called "Everything Store" posted a profit; a feat considered by most analysts to be above and beyond expectations.  The Echo device has been a breakout hit that's selling like hotcakes. Now they've hit phase II, with Echo Skills that allow for third parties to pair their services to the voice services. 

To that end, Ford, Uber, and Dominoes have decided to partner with the retail giant to grow their sales, meaning that through an Amazon portal, you can order a ride or a pizza with your voice, or, in the case of Ford, one day soon you'll be able to access Alexa Voice Services in your car in order to ask queries, get the news, and put things on your to-do and shopping lists.

As if totally leapfrogging the intelligent voice assistants that Apple and Google slapped onto their mobile devices wasn't enough, Amazon 

Amazon Will Open Physical Bookstores Because Life Is a Practical Joke Played On Us All →

"Amazon is working on plans to open hundreds of brick-and-mortar bookstores, according to a new report from CNBC. Yes, following in the footsteps of chains like Borders, Amazon apparently thinks that the future is in dead trees.

Amazon already has one physical store that opened back in November. The Seattle store was dismissed as a “vanity project” when it was first announced, but apparently it worked out well enough that Amazon is willing to bet big money on it. It ain’t cheap to open 300-400 retail stores."

People said that Apple was crazy to open up retail stores back in 2001, when Dell and others were experiencing extreme costs savings with the Direct-To-Consumer business model. Still, people went crazy when it opened and Apple remains the most productive retailer, measured in revenue by square foot.

I've had a chance to check out the Amazon Bookstore in Seattle. It's probably the only public place other than CES where you could really try out the Echo; a device that's hard to explain but easy to love. Add to that the fact that there's something about being able to touch and hold a book before purchase.