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Amazon Set to Unveil $199 'Kindle Fire' Tablet

asphalt-proof said:
I have an iPad (using it to send this post) but before I bought this, I had heard rumors of Amazon releasing their own tablet. I was half-tempted to wait to see what they were going to offer. Amazon has the ace in the hole that none of the other tablet makers had to actually challenge Apple: built in content. Massive amounts of content. That being said, I get the feeling from this keynote that this is not positioned to be a direct competitor to the iPad. This really appears to be purely a media consumption device. I know that some of you will argue that the iPad is simply that as well (just a toy) but... Well, nothing I say is going to change your mind. Myself, (and apparently many, many) other people are using them for everyday work and are quite productive with it. It really can be just about anything you want it be. I really didn't see that in Bezo's presentation. however, it is Android so... I guess the 7" is a turn off for me personally. The screen on my iPad is about as small as I can go and still have it be useful. Just my preference though.

Will this "steal" markets share? Absolutely. If, for no other reason than Amazon's huge media availability. Ease of use and seamlessness is the key to this market. I think Amazon has nailed that. Maybe. I guess the proof is in the pudding. But the cost! Oh that too will put a lot of these into shopping carts this christmas.

Am I kicking myself for waiting? No. I love my iPad and nothing in the keynote made me look at it and think, "your not shiny anymore." well, except the cost. Love the cost. I could see me picking up one of the kids this christmas. I
wouldn't even contemplate that with the cost of the iPad.

By the way: did anyone else notice the similarities between Bezo's keynote and past keynotes by Jobs? I think even the font was the same. Not slamming him or even calling him out for it. I think one of the reasons Jobs keynotes are so widely reported and heralded is because he does a great job of showing what the product can do. No dwelling on specs. Just what an amazing product it is and why you want it. Simple. Direct and easy to understand. I actually enjoyed watching Bezo's presentation. I thought he did a nice job selling it.

Here's to the success of the Amazon new Kindle line up. It can only push Apple to innovate further. Can't wait.
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they are selling a playbook with different software and barely mention of specs

the RIM CEO's will probably get fired over this. amazon is going to sell millions of the same tablets they couldn't sell.
 
competitor

The all new Amazon KindleFire. The tablet for old peopleTM.

In all seriousness tho, it looks like they'll do pretty well with this thing especially at that price. Even if 15% of it is grandmas buying it for 14 year olds. Look sweetie, I got you an iTablet! Amazon + Android? Sounds like someone found a magic recipe.
 
KingCrimson said:
At best this might pull 10% of potential iPad sales. at best.
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I think that is way too generous. 10% would be quite significant. But I think your theory is correct. Right now people are reacting to the price. Once people understand the Fire's limitations they'll understand just because something is a color tablet doesn't mean it's an iPad competitor b/c the iPad is closer to a computer than an eReader, which stripped down, that is what the Fire still is.
 
thetexan said:
If Apple released the iPad 1 for $199 it would kill sales if the iPad 2.
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That is the point, Apple sells a tablet that leads to related music, video and e-books sales. But if I buy Apple's tablet and never buy content Apple still makes money.

It looks like Amazon is selling ink jet printers. That is, the tablet is sold for cost or less as a loss-leader to get the content sales. Looks like a race to the bottom.
 
Good for Us

I'm sure this will mean that fewer iPads are sold because of the overlap for some potential users. But competition, while bad for the fanboy, is good for consumers in general. Don't get me wrong, I love apple and I'm ordering the next iPhone on day 1 but dominance can make you lazy. Hopefully this will give Mr. Cook and Mr. Ive and added push.
 
Why is everyone already dismissing it as a fail and keep repeating that it's not better than the IPad? Let's not forget money is tight for a lot of people at the moment including myself so a cheap tablet with good specs will be a winner. It's not even comparable to the IPad apart from some of the specs. This can only be a good thing for consumers who now have more choice.

Honestly i couldn't believe the price when i read the specs it had!!
 
The Kindle Fire huh ? 7" Android tablet with the Amazon store and a bit of WebOS tossed in to boot. Don't think this will unseat the iPad but it just might be candy for some people.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
I think that is way too generous. 10% would be quite significant. But I think your theory is correct. Right now people are reacting to the price. Once people understand the Fire's limitations they'll understand just because something is a color tablet doesn't mean it's an iPad competitor b/c the iPad is closer to a computer than an eReader, which stripped down, that is what the Fire still is.
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LOL
Keep up the comedy guys.
 
Pretty good deal IMO. I think they have nailed the cheap tablet market with this device. I can see a lot of people will be interested in this.

Personally I won't be getting one but I'm very interested in the entry level kindle. £89 for that. Wow.
 
Frenchjay said:
Why is everyone already dismissing it as a fail and keep repeating that it's better than the IPad? Let's not forget money is tight for a lot of people at the moment including myself so a cheap tablet with good specs will be a winner. It's not even comparable to the IPad apart from some of the specs. This can only be a good thing for consumers who now have more choice.

Honestly i couldn't believe the price when i read the specs it had!!
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BECAUSE APPLEY FANBOYS LOVE TO HATE

And they will criticize anyone non-Apple.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
I think that is way too generous. 10% would be quite significant. But I think your theory is correct. Right now people are reacting to the price. Once people understand the Fire's limitations they'll understand just because something is a color tablet doesn't mean it's an iPad competitor b/c the iPad is closer to a computer than an eReader, which stripped down, that is what the Fire still is.
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I don't know. I think when they have it in hand it will be just like the iPad. People might complain about what it can't do - but will be happy with all it can do.

When the iPad first came out - there were boatloads of complaints. And no - I am not just talking about Flash.
 
shiseiryu1 said:
The iPad isn't really that good to do reading on...I can't imagine that a smaller Kindle Fire is going to be any better...in fact I would bet it's worse.
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Umm..how the hell do you figure that? It will be lighter, more portable, will have higher pixel density screen and you will be able to read it using one hand. Obviously it won't be anywhere near as good of a computing device, but for just reading? It will be better than iPad.

That said, Amazon is clearly focusing on their new cheap e-ink devices when it comes to targeting avid readers. There's a reason why the estimates predict 12 millions of new Kindles sold this year, while "only" 3-5 mlns Kindle Fires.
 
LeiQQ said:
I have an iphone for all that--camera, etc.. After getting my iPhone 4 I could not really think of what I could use an iPad for. The only thing would be reading books or PDFs. I need to read a lot (researcher, teacher) and I think the weight of an iPad would be too much. I think there is a market for something like this for sure. I love Amazon and I'm seriously thinking of buying one. I'm just worried that the reading experience will not be as good as with the regular kindle. I haven't decided yet but considering it. I think within six months I'll either own a kindle touch or this new kindle fire.
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I'm really curious to see how the Fire display stacks up for reading. It already has a strike against it as a "Kindle" for not having 3G (even if video streaming wasn't allowed over 3G).

I may just keep my 1st-gen Ipad, buy a Kindle Touch and let the tablet-wars continue to play out.
 
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This is NOT an Android tablet. From the Bloomberg article:

"Amazon has painted over the rough surfaces of Google’s Android operating system with a fresh and easy-to-use interface and tied the device closely to its own large and growing content library of movies, magazines and music."

This is Amazon's version of Android with its own UI and its own app store. That may be a good thing or a bad thing, but it is not just an Android tablet with all of the usual Android freedoms.
 
KnightWRX said:
How so ? The Kindle Fire doesn't seem open from the information we have. Time will tell, but for now it seems very locked down to Amazon offerings (if it works in the Amazon eco-system, it will work on Kindle Fire, but there's no guarantee outside apps like the Android Market or side loading will).

Do you have any source you're willing to cite to the contrary ?
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Amazon's Android app store is far more open of a platform than Apple's app store.
 
The Tablet Wars

It seems that the companies that have the content will succeed in this market. I jumped in line and ordered one. I like the idea that it is more mobile than my iPad1.
 
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Well. I just pre-ordered 1. Christmas gift for my girlfriend.
 
As I said before, this is a great device for the limited use it has. Of all of the other Android devices, Amazon will support it for OS and firmware updates which makes the Fire a competitor to the iPad for the casual user. It will eat in to iPad sales this Christmas due to the economy.

My children will be thrilled this holiday season to have a tablet, which I wasn't prepared to spend $500 + tax for, but they will get the Fire for $199 tax free.
 
before anybody replaces their iPad with this, I would take a look at the available native Android tablet apps available in the marketplace. There aren't many.
 
MacVault said:
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This is great - Apple will have to price the iPad more resonably now!
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No, they won't. This is hardly a tablet. It is an expensive reader. It lacks the functions and apps that the iPad has. It is also too small to do more than some basic consumption. It may find a niche, but it is not an iPad killer. It is a starter device that people may buy before spending the money on a real tablet like the iPad.
 
We need a successful Kindle Fire Tablet

In order for this new tablet to be a success it only has to sell well. It doesn't need to outsell the iPad. If that was the case the Mac would still be a failure. We need people to be more understanding when they are in the greater sales position. So far there are still too many people that sound just like MicroSoft with the way they treat other people because the sell the majority of the desktop OSes. So far I am pleasantly surprised that people are sounding positive about the new Amazon Kindle products. Maybe the grownups are talking now. I hope that we can all act like grownups now.
 
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