Amazon Set to Unveil $199 'Kindle Fire' Tablet

[wovel]

As others have stated already, this doesn't compare against an iPad so much as RIM PlayBook or the other 7" tablet devices on the market, like Samsung Galaxy Touch, or the many cheaper no-name tablets.

They will own the 7" space. I think for some people this will be a great device. This is the first other tablet that I believe will see updated on a regular cycle for least the next 5 year. Not the Samsung / Motorola 6 updates in 6 months desperation cycles. Real legitimate updates to a successful product every 12-18 month.

I love my iPad and my kindle. I plan on pickin up the $99 touch when it comes out.

 

[AAPLaday]

Ships 15th November. Pre-order today

 

[diamond.g]

Yeah, sounds like a much improved version of what Opera is doing with Opera Mini (where all the rendering is off loaded to the cloud). Definitely sounds like a good use of EC2 for Amazon and would make the browsing experience much better on mobile devices.

Knowing Amazon I am sure they will find a way to allow this service to be tapped into (for a fee of course).

 

[jsh1120]

Hmm.. Kindle Touch.. nice name but I smell potential lawsuit from the Big Apple on the name ...

Doubtful. Apple's claim to own the term "touch" was tossed out of court yesterday.

 

[BobVB]

The Make or Break will be…

Battery Life. Can you read books all day on it without recharging? If you can't that will be the bad press that will tone down this excitement.

While many are comparing this to the iPad (the media so wants a real toe to toe with someone to crop up) it really is just going to be a 'color Kindle' for those that are put off by black and white.

As others have said this is to expand the Kindle market primarily and as such it will need to do the 3 things the other Kindles do (easy read, long battery, light to hold) if its going to really take off.

I do think it will do well this holiday season regardless because it will be far too soon for even a wave of buyer's remorse to really affect sales - most will be bought FOR someone rather than by the individuals themselves.

 

[stellardream]

People need to STOP COMPARING IT TO AN IPAD. Look at it as its own device. For $199 you're getting a device that can read books, watch videos on Amazon Prime, browse the internet, and access to an app store from a reputable company. Not bad at all for only $199.

Yes, because reading books, watching videos, browsing Internet, etc. make it revolutionary different from iPad or any other tablet.

Your statement makes no logical sense. But thanks for trying to shut everyone up.

 

[handsome pete]

Someone please explain to me why kindle costs 79 dollars to 149 dollars, but iPod nano costs 149-179 dollars?

Apple needs to drop the price on every damn ipods.

Can someone please explain to me why a diamond ring costs more than a basketball?

 

[mikerudolph22]

Does this mean I will soon be able to get an iPad for $199....?????

This is a very very very attractive price.


Not sure why you'd vote this comment down. As of March, iPad costs Apple $335 (http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20110314PR200.html). Next year you all can suck it when I buy my $199 iPad.

 

[steviem]

No shock. Just pointing out that Fire customers won't have to wait two years after its introduction to get wireless syncing.

If the Kindle Fire was out two years ago, I'd love that reasoning.

 

[Eidorian]

Can someone please explain to me why a diamond ring costs more than a basketball?

You get a lot more mileage out of that basketball but you still have to deal with the conditions of the labor that produced it.

 

[Abyssgh0st]

Recap so far:

$79 Kindle- Good luck, Barnes and Noble. Can't compete with $79 for a new device.

Kindle Touch- Looks really cool. I'll be upgrading my girlfriend's Kindle 2 to this, at virtually no cost.

Kindle Fire- As much as I don't want one, I still appreciate it. Goodbye all knock off tablets (Samsung, Acer, Asus, RIM, ChinaTabs, etc.)- the Kindle Fire and HP Touchpad rule the sub $300 tablet market, and everything above that is already dominated by iPads.

Hoping for some sort of Kindle DX upgrade so I feel compelled to upgrade.

EDIT: Looks like no Kindle DX upgrade. I would agree with the report of a 10" Kindle Fire filling the void in a few months for $250-299.

 

[jouster]

No shock. Just pointing out that Fire customers won't have to wait two years after its introduction to get wireless syncing.

So what? It ships November 15th, so Apple will likely have wireless syncing out before you can even touch a Fire.

 

[whoami]

The big winner here is Google
The big losers will be RIM & Netflix

I think this may be the device to finally light the fire under Apple's ass..
iPad 3 will be insane!

 

[DirtySocks85]

The best news out of this for me is the $79 Kindle. I've been interested in getting one for a while now, as I read ebooks on my iPhone 4, but I couldn't justify the cost. Now all I have to do is wait until the next time my wife drops over $80 on traditional paper books and I can justify the purchase to her.

 

[rhett7660]

Goodbye Blackberry Playbook.

Was there really even a thought for the Playbook lol...

This is good. Can't wait to see more and possibly try it out.

 

[wovel]

Uh oh, their one more thing is huge. If Amazon can pull of this silk thing they will turn mobile browsing upside-down, particularly on low cost devices.

 

[KnightWRX]

Yes, because reading books, watching videos, browsing Internet, etc. make it revolutionary different from iPad or any other tablet.

It might not, but for 199$, it's much cheaper than the iPad and any other tablets.

I only bought my TouchPad because of the price. I don't really believe in the tablet form factor. I would never have paid 499$ for one. This 199$ price tag, for a tablet that does apps, games, movies, music, books (basically, 95% of what the iPad is used for) is going to bring a lot of folk to the form factor that might not have considered it before.

 

[Lindenhurst]

The big winner here is Google
The big losers will be RIM & Netflix

I think this may be the device to finally light the fire under Apple's ass..
iPad 3 will be insane!

Netflix the loser??? Only if Amazon eventually gets the number of movies netflix currently has. They aren't even in the same league yet. But time will tell.

 

[Rychy]

I think I'm in for a Kindle Touch. Been thinking about getting one for a while anyways and $99 is the right price.

Not interested in Fire though. I've had Prime for years, haven't used the instant streaming once.

 

[Pink∆Floyd]

Hopefully Apple will reconsider the iPad's price for more rigorous competition

 

[Xenomorph]

Welp. I guess my Nook Color is dead now. Poor B&N, there is no way they can compete with Amazon's offerings on this.

Hopefully Apple will reconsider the iPad's price for more rigorous competition

A lot of people are more concerned with the availability of a 7" iPad.

 

[KnightWRX]

HP Touchpad rule the sub $300 tablet market

The HP TouchPad rules nothing. There is no stock and there won't be any new stock ever. It's done.

 

[BobVB]

Oh and as to the price…

A local Seattle station said yesterday that Amazon is selling the Kindle Fire at below costs, planning on making the money back on book sales.

 

[tigres]

Putting the tablet aside right now: Silk is killer- sick. Nobody can argue how precious whispersync works.

All I can hear is SJ ripping someones head off as we speak on MM, and iCloud.

That folks, is where is may bite apple in the behind.

 

[artistnyc]

A light weight easy to read half the price of iPad

This would be great for restaurants wanting to program it for their menus and wine list