Amazon Media Event Set for September 28th, Tablet Announcement Expected

[mw360]

O h joy, yet another Android tablet no one will buy.

I think its going to be a hit. It's just a glorified shopping trolley and Amazon will want it in the hands of as many people as possible, even if they have to take a loss. I can see this KindleOS (or whatever) leapfrogging 'real' Android (whatever version number they're raving about this week) into a close 2nd place in the tablet market. Overnight all the Android tablets will just become heavy, expensive Kindles, as well as being unappetising off brand iPads.

Or maybe something else will happen, who knows.

 

[gtmac]

Amazon has a big eco-system already in place, they now have their own branded App store, their music store, obviously their eBook business. It will be interesting to see what they come up with.

As a whole, I'm still not convinced about the tablet form factor for myself. Even my Touchpad rarely sees any use.

Also video rentals. This could be the first real competition. I love Amazon as much as Apple.

 

[KingCrimson]

Bottom line, anyone who has tried to compete against the iPad has failed miserably. Dashed against the rocks. Amazon will be no different. They just don't get it.

 

[SandynJosh]

This thing is going to sell like hot cakes if the price is at $250 or less. Kindle sells like crazy, it has a huge following. People who want an E-reader with some extra, but don't want to pay $500 for an iPad will buy this thing.

It makes so much sense to tie all of their products into one. (Movies/TV, Music, Books, App store). People who don't use the music/movie part of amazon will start using them once they get this tablet. This is a great time for Amazon to push their movie/TV service, with Netflixs being all crazy with price and name changes.

As an e-reader, the color screen will allow the reader to at least enjoy the pictures and photos of the original book. However I can't see how anyone could enjoy a movie on a 7" screen. That's small enough to begin with but by the time you give up some of the screen to the black bands, you are watching the movie through a key hole.

I think Amazon has a winner here if their intention is to have a nice color portal to their on-line store and good for hardly anything more.

 

[KingCrimson]

As an e-reader, the color screen will allow the reader to at least enjoy the pictures and photos of the original book. However I can't see how anyone could enjoy a movie on a 7" screen. That's small enough to begin with but by the time you give up some of the screen to the black bands, you are watching the movie through a key hole.

I think Amazon has a winner here if their intention is to have a nice color portal to their on-line store and good for hardly anything more.

People will learn soon enough about all the things they *cant* do on an Amazon Kindle tablet and go right back to their iPad. It's like when I just couldn't stand my Nook reader anymore and now I only read e-Books on the iPad. Sure the tablet is heavier, but the screen quality and smooth transitions on page turns makes up for it. Bottom line is that there are no limitations of what you can do on the iPad and the weight issue is non-issue.

 

[MacinDoc]

It will undoubtedly be a great device to allow Amazon deeper penetration into the electronic retail market, and to allow us to spend even more money on the products Amazon provides. Essentially an electronic shopping cart. And the funny part is, we will willingly pay for it. At some point, this could threaten the print industry the way that iTunes threatened brick and mortar music stores. Within 10 years, most content, whether video, audio, or the written word, will be distributed electronically, and I expect Amazon to be a huge (if not the largest) part of that ecosystem.

 

[Tiggs]

Fail. Sad they feel they have to make an undersized 7-inch tablet in order to hit some lower pricing point. User experience will suffer and a used iPad 1 will be a better alternative.

 

[iSee]

It took me about an hour to learn all the features of my phone from never using one for more than a few minutes in my entire life.

People either do not care or they are poorly educated and ignorant. The world is a terrible place and I keep hearing the optimists go on how iPads and iOS is some how engendering some future with technology in our lives. I see a fake "individualized" corporate relation direct to my doorstop and the usual dumbing down of society 2.0.

Time to cull CS majors from that but it is all about the dollar at the end of the day under all the gloss and shiny. I'll keep volunteering in my community and voting against such invasions.

Don't forget to spend some time on your manifesto.

 

[jhwalker]

Will be a hit, I'm sure

Kindle is Amazon's biggest-selling product, even outstripping the Harry Potter products. Electronic downloads have long-since passed physical book sales, and this trend is increasing. An Amazon-centric Android tablet with easy access to shopping, books, videos and apps would be a killer product - and at $250, it will fly off the virtual "shelves".

 

[AppleScruff1]

Fail. Sad they feel they have to make an undersized 7-inch tablet in order to hit some lower pricing point. User experience will suffer and a used iPad 1 will be a better alternative.

But when Apple introduce a 7" iPad next year it will be great, right?

 

[jb1280]

I do. Apple's iPad sucked for me, and I returned it to Apple only four days after the purchase. I hope that Amazon's gadget is going to be a much better - and less restricted - gadget for my needs.

Amazon and 'less restricted' usually do not belong in the same sentence.

 

[akad]

The only way this can compete with the iPad is if the price point is the guessed $250 or less...

 

[apolloa]

People will learn soon enough about all the things they *cant* do on an Amazon Kindle tablet and go right back to their iPad. It's like when I just couldn't stand my Nook reader anymore and now I only read e-Books on the iPad. Sure the tablet is heavier, but the screen quality and smooth transitions on page turns makes up for it. Bottom line is that there are no limitations of what you can do on the iPad and the weight issue is non-issue.

Wow, an entire slandering comment based on fiction! I'm impressed.
And wow again, the iPad is far superior because it has 'smooth transition' of page turns eh? Wow...

 

[revelated]

The only reason I hesitate buying one is ironically because it's running Android. I'm starting to get tired of the same two mobile OS's.

HOWEVER...

If they do like the Kindle and throw in free unlimited 3G access...I'll have no choice, because that, my friends, would be an iPad killing feature. I'd mount that bad boy in my car in a hot minute.

 

[KingCrimson]

The only reason I hesitate buying one is ironically because it's running Android. I'm starting to get tired of the same two mobile OS's.

HOWEVER...

If they do like the Kindle and throw in free unlimited 3G access...I'll have no choice, because that, my friends, would be an iPad killing feature. I'd mount that bad boy in my car in a hot minute.

The difference between Amazon Android and the others is:

* it's forked off the mainline and you can trust Amazon's team will keep it nice & stable

* Amazon AppStore for Android is very carefully policed for malware/trojan/virus/crapware

 

[revelated]

The difference between Amazon Android and the others is:

* it's forked off the mainline and you can trust Amazon's team will keep it nice & stable

* Amazon AppStore for Android is very carefully policed for malware/trojan/virus/crapware

It's not that. I'm just tired of the same old same old. I like variety - which is one reason I was disheartened to see webOS go the way of the N-Gage.

 

[MacinDoc]

The only reason I hesitate buying one is ironically because it's running Android. I'm starting to get tired of the same two mobile OS's.

HOWEVER...

If they do like the Kindle and throw in free unlimited 3G access...I'll have no choice, because that, my friends, would be an iPad killing feature. I'd mount that bad boy in my car in a hot minute.

No way are they going to sell it for $250 AND throw in free 3G access. It's one thing to have free access on "experimental" browser on a device that's not really built to surf the internet (Kindle), and it's quite another to pay a provider $150 A YEAR (just an outright guess here on the amount) so the buyer can surf for free (you don't think a provider will provide that access to Amazon for free, do you?). I suppose the purchase could come with a 1 year subscription that would include 3G access, but then I doubt the price would be $250.

----------

The difference between Amazon Android and the others is:

* it's forked off the mainline and you can trust Amazon's team will keep it nice & stable

* Amazon AppStore for Android is very carefully policed for malware/trojan/virus/crapware

The main difference between Amazon Android and other flavours of Android is that it's designed to make it easier for you to divert more of your money to Amazon, just like from iOS devices to Apple.

 

[BTW]

Hopefully nothing like the Playbook.

It would be cool it Amazon could take innovation to the next level. Maybe flexible displays, color e-ink with higher refresh rates for smooth screen refreshes, or something altogether different.

I like Apple but I am more of a fan of innovation no matter who it comes from. Apple has just been innovating more than anyone else in the last 15 years since Steve's arrival than anyone else - starting with the iMac.

 

[KingCrimson]

The main difference between Amazon Android and other flavours of Android is that it's designed to make it easier for you to divert more of your money to Amazon, just like from iOS devices to Apple.

At least you admit Apple does that too.

 

[jlc1978]

Bottom line, anyone who has tried to compete against the iPad has failed miserably. Dashed against the rocks. Amazon will be no different. They just don't get it.

Oh, they get it. They're aiming at a different market than the iPad - one that has the potential to be bigger and broader. If they were aiming at the iPad they''d have done what other tablet makers tried and failed at; instead they went for a different market. Don't be surprised if they are very successful with this, and follow-on, Kindles.

 

[Aegelward]

Anyone else hope it'd be made out of the same materials as the current kindle?

Having a high quality matte materials tablet would stand out from the crowd of glossy tablets.

 

[D.T.]

Oh, they get it. They're aiming at a different market than the iPad - one that has the potential to be bigger and broader. If they were aiming at the iPad they''d have done what other tablet makers tried and failed at; instead they went for a different market. Don't be surprised if they are very successful with this, and follow-on, Kindles.

I totally agree except for the highlighted part. If anything, I believe this will be less broad, i.e., more focused, more vertical vs. the existing Android market (as in the consumer market), and (as pointed out above), almost exactly like Apple: more controlled app distribution, media/content services through the OEM, etc.

***

Amazon has pretty strong brand equity, and really knocked it out of the park with the Kindle - I think piggybacking on that success will make this a strong contender, but in a new market: potential Kindle buyers who have just enough technical savvy (like a good majority of the smartphone market) to want a device that can do a little more than just read e-books, *but* (hello, run on sentence...) are also very price conscious and are willing to pay less-for-less.

We love Amazon, been using them for 12+ years, Prime member which is terrific (removes the shipping cost as a consideration and tons of additional perks). All because of their generally terrific execution and in our experience, outstanding customer service. I'd favor this to be a success.

 

[KingCrimson]

Oh, they get it. They're aiming at a different market than the iPad - one that has the potential to be bigger and broader. If they were aiming at the iPad they''d have done what other tablet makers tried and failed at; instead they went for a different market. Don't be surprised if they are very successful with this, and follow-on, Kindles.

Actually an Amazon tablet would be less broad then the iPad. The whole idea of being more vertically integrated into the Amazon ecosystem and all. Also I wonder if you will even have the ability to install the Nook app on it.

 

[james92se]

I think its going to be a hit. It's just a glorified shopping trolley and Amazon will want it in the hands of as many people as possible, even if they have to take a loss. I can see this KindleOS (or whatever) leapfrogging 'real' Android (whatever version number they're raving about this week) into a close 2nd place in the tablet market. Overnight all the Android tablets will just become heavy, expensive Kindles, as well as being unappetising off brand iPads.

Or maybe something else will happen, who knows.

This is a great observation and I completely agree.

Amazon has systematically set themselves up to be major players in several budding areas (streaming video, cloud services, etc.) and this tablet, being essentially a "glorified shopping trolley" will only further bolster that and put Amazon's service(s) in the "hands" of the masses. Pretty impressive by Amazon

 

[steadysignal]

Kindle is Amazon's biggest-selling product, even outstripping the Harry Potter products. Electronic downloads have long-since passed physical book sales, and this trend is increasing. An Amazon-centric Android tablet with easy access to shopping, books, videos and apps would be a killer product - and at $250, it will fly off the virtual "shelves".

looking forward to the offering. if the device works at all as well as the kindle, it will be something. 7inch screen will win.