Google, Apple, Facebook and....Amazon?

Unsurprisingly, most of the tech world buzz is around either very large players (Microsoft, etc.), exciting/alternative players (because people love to speculate- see examples like Square, mFoundry, etc.) and then the cross-section of these two groups-the big, exciting/alternative players. This cross-section is inhabited by players like Google, Apple and Facebook. However, when we begin thinking about the future- how will these major players battle it out? Already we see that they are quietly creeping into each other's spaces (Amazon introduced Amazon mp3 as a response to the iTunes phenomenon, for example, but managed to beat Apple to the music cloud service).

But maybe we're underestimating some of the large players like Amazon.com. What do we know about this company after all? Is there a legitimate reason for the Apples of the world to be nervous?

• Late last year, they invested $175M for an undisclosed stake in LivingSocial, one of the largest local coupon providers in the market today
• Even though Amazon just announced its new cloud player for music bought through its Amazon Mp3 service (to multiple disapproving looks from record companies), its cloud player is already being ranked as one of the top android apps
• But what else does this cloud service offer? How about 20GB of free storage in their Cloud Drive with your firs Amazon mp3 purchase? That sounds awfully familiar to... Dropbox though, doesn't it? And although Dropbox certainly has the jump on Amazon (Dropbox was founded in 2007)
• But what about consumer base? Dropbox, for example, brags about its "millions of users", estimates from 2008 quote about 81 million users. I can only imagine that the number has grown
• They offer their own streamlined payment system (Amazon PayPhrase) by using phrases instead of PINs to authorize transactions across the web (this means secure express checkout with the ability to add controls around how much spend can occur)
• They have their own digital reader (jumping into that digital goods space) with the Kindle, so don't be surprised to see a tablet in production very soon 
• So, they have a large consumer base, they're looking to get into localized coupon offerings, they offer their own express checkout process...good thing they're not getting into the payment business or we'd all be in troub...wait a second... Amazon recently announced that it too is setting its sights on NFC mobile payments
• The danger with Amazon moving into NFC is that it means they're seriously considering moving from digital goods online to physical goods in stores, and everything in between- meaning that they could potentially evolve into something like Aislebuyer or GoogleShopper (allowing customers to scan barcodes in stores, comparison shop through online stores and either click to have the product shipped to your home) OR scan the barcode and use the "wallet" existing in your Amazon account to pay for your purchase. Simply present your receipt at the door and off you go

So is Amazon a threat? I'd say so. They're focusing on digital and physical goods, they have an expedited check out system, they already offer a "wallet" on their site, they're moving toward local while simultaneously offering services in the cloud. Basically, they're slowly overtaking most of the consumer shopping experience, from comparison to product storage afterward. Amazon also has an edge on some of these other players through its breadth. Google for example, mostly focused on driving consumers to purchases through their ad streams and Apple, has been focused solely on the purchase of digital goods (apps/music) or their own proprietary hardware (iPods, iPads, etc.).

So yes. I would say they're a threat. They're just being very quiet about it. Could this mean the new era of Amazon is coming?