Letters
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If Amazon allows sideloading, £20 for new Stick is a bargain
I completely agree with your two-star verdict on Amazon’s new Fire TV Stick 4K Select (Issue 725, page 29, pictured right). Banning sideloading is the proverbial sledgehammer to crack a nut. It stigmatises all those people who sideload apps for legal purposes, not to watch Premier League football without paying.
But might Amazon backtrack on this stupid decision? It’s already done so to allow VPNs (Issue 725, page 7). If you think it will, then the current price of just £19.99 for the device (www.snipca. com/57247), down from £49.99, could prove to be a bargain. I might take a punt.
Jim Howard
CA SAYS
We understand Jim’s reasoning, but we doubt Amazon will reverse its ban on sideloading. This was a deliberate policy decision to control what can run on its Fire TV devices. By stopping users from installing apps outside the official store, Amazon reduces the risk of malware, copyright infringement and dodgy apps slipping on to millions of devices.
The VPN reversal, by contrast, was a relatively minor tweak: it involved formally supporting apps that already exist and comply with Amazon’s rules. It was technically very easy and doesn’t represent a major policy U-turn.