Amazon to Introduce a 9" Android Tablet this Fall

[MacRumors]

According to the Wall Street Journal's sources, Amazon is planning to introduce a 9" tablet computer before October that will place it head-to-head against Apple's iPad.

The new tablet will intensify a growing clash between Amazon and Apple. The two tech-industry titans are already fighting for customers for their respective digital book, music and video businesses. Now Amazon will have a device that will compete closely against Apple's popular iPad, as well as other tablets such as Samsung Electronic Co.'s Galaxy Tab.

Amazon's tablet will use a 9-inch screen and run on Google's Android operating system. The device won't carry a camera like the iPad but will allow customers to watch videos, read eBooks and listen to music from Amazon. Meanwhile, Amazon will also be offering two updated versions of their popular Kindle e-reader around the same time. The report seemingly confirms a Digitimes story from June.

Apple's iPad continues to dominate the tablet market, but there have been rumors that Apple may be considering an iPad refresh as early as this fall which would place its release near Amazon's tablet launch. Amazon and Apple have become increasingly competitive over the years with recent disputes over the use of the "App Store" name.


Article Link: Amazon to Introduce a 9" Android Tablet this Fall

 

[wordoflife]

I hope Amazon makes it cheap. I'd buy it (though it is an Android tablet).
I just can't justify spending $500 right now, since I know I probably won't use it much.

 

[gibbz]

I think this actually makes more sense than other competitors.

Besides Apple, Amazon probably has the best collection of media under one roof to leverage on a device. You can buy music, movies, books, and apps from them -- all under your one Amazon account.

Can they do a decent job on software? We'll will see.

 

[wackymacky]

Good! The more strong condenders in the market place, will hopfuly drive invovation and maintain "resonable" price points.

 

[JS77]

More tablets than phones these days.

 

[iphone1105]

What advantages would it have over the iPad, or The Galaxy Tab 10.1? Those are clearly the beasts on the market.

 

[benpatient]

Good luck to them.

I'm actually more excited about this year's new Kindle devices than any tablet computer.

We have been fighting over our 3rd gen Kindle for almost a year, now, and I can't remember what it was like not to have it sitting there with a huge library of books at our fingertips.

 

[roadbloc]

Best of luck to Amazon. They already have the minerals (eBooks, App Store and the kindle brand) so I guess this is the logical next step.

 

[Porchland]

And the Kindle app for iPhone STILL has a link to go around Apple to buy e-books.

 

[ChristianVirtual]

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As long as I have my kindle app in the iPad I will stay there. No desire to get an Android right now. So just hope that Apple don't kill Kindle due to their new rules; but looks like ok right now. A competitor is good but no chance in my eyes to get a relevant share. When iPad 3 really bring a better screen it will continue to rule the market.

 

[ChazUK]

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They should call it "Tablet" and complain that others are using the word tablet to describe their tablets.

/iJest

 

[hcho3]

it will have to be 299 dollars to get me interested. Already have an iPad 2 and iPad 3 will launch early next year. Amazon wants to do it by Ocotober? If I wait 4-5 months, then I will see retina display iPad 3. So, Amazon needs to hit it fast and hard. Price should not be more than 299 dollars and they need to have strong 3 rd party support.

 

[BC2009]

What advantages would it have over the iPad, or The Galaxy Tab 10.1? Those are clearly the beasts on the market.

The only thing I can think of is that it would have built in access to Amazon Video-on-Demand. iPad and Honeycomb both have Kindle apps, so no real "books" advantage. On the music side you would have Amazon MP3 + anything you synced to "Amazon Cloud Drive".

This will be the first Android tablet to have a really compelling "media" ecosystem. So certainly an Android enthusiast who wants better a better media ecosystem would be interested or somebody who has bought in to Amazon MP3 and Video-on-Demand. However, I only see this tablet making a dent in other Android tablet sales. For the general public, I still don't see a compelling reason of "why you should get this instead of an iPad".

Music: iTunes has a larger market base than Amazon MP3 -- and -- anything you buy on Amazon MP3 is in your iTunes and is sycned to iPad (over the cloud with iTunes match)

Video: Apple still trumps Amazon on available video and the ability to sync rather than stream is critical during long drives in the car (for the kids) or airplane trips. Android now lets you "pin" movies you have rented -- so Amazon would need to allow the same.

Books: Amazon has a better book selection on the Kindle, but for how long? Many many people have not yet switched to e-Readers. Those who have are likely going to stick with whatever they initially started with, but new users would likely be just as apt to go with iBooks over Kindle -- or -- use the Kindle app on the iPad (for as long as its available).

Apps: The best and most apps are still on iOS, though Amazon has been working hard to promote their "AppStore".

Anyway, I still don't see a compelling reason other than:
1) You don't want an Apple product -- you really want Honeycomb.

2) You are a big user of Amazon Video-on-Demand or Amazon Cloud Drive.

Sounds like another lack-luster tablet waiting to happen. Apple worked hard to build up their ecosystem over the years. The UI and OS for iPad are compelling, but the ecosystem is what makes the iPad success so hard to replicate. Apple's position in tablets is likely akin to RIM's in smartphones a few years ago -- Apple needs to lose their perspective to fall from grace in this area -- it is their fight to lose -- if they stay on top of the market and keep innovating they are likely to hold the lion's share for quite some time. I'm not saying "honeycomb sucks" or "webOS sucks" -- its just that iOS is only a component of the success, its hard to replicate the entire recipe Apple has been brewing for a decade overnight.

 

[MRU]

The only way Amazon can make an impact is to release a 'retina display' before Apple tailored to reading & viewing clear sharp text on their Kindle application and for streaming / playback of full HD content from it's movie service.

Otherwise what else could differentiate it from the plethora of already released tablets?

 

[dethmaShine]

Best of luck to Amazon. They already have the minerals (eBooks, App Store and the kindle brand) so I guess this is the logical next step.

Exactly.

Amazon off of all the other companies has a decent enough ecosystem to provide the best resources to the people who are going to buy them.

On another note, they have a nice image in the market as well de to the kindle. This is going to work.

 

[4look4rd]

Amazon is also one of the few companies that actually produce nice ads (Apple being another one of them).

 

[wolfshades]

Of all of the tablet contendors, I think Amazon is the main one to go head to head with Apple. They have proven themselves resilient and market-saavy, even to providing the Kindle app on their competitor's hardware.

Since I tend to use my iPad to mostly read books - from various bookstores, not just Apple's or Amazon's - I'll be watching this product carefully. Especially if at some point Apple decides to de-list the Kindle app for non-compliance with its book-purchasing requirement.

 

[mousouchop]

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I hope they don't abandon their e-ink readers with this move. Would love a color touch screen e-ink reader from them in the future...

 

[res1233]

I hope Amazon makes it cheap. I'd buy it (though it is an Android tablet).
I just can't justify spending $500 right now, since I know I probably won't use it much.

The iPad is one of those devices whose real-world use is not always apparent till you actually have your hands on one. I think you'd use it plenty once you get it. A few moments playing with one in a bestbuy and I could instantly feel why people love it so much. I'll be getting one soon.

The idea is that while you may be perfectly fine reading e-mail on your computer, browsing the web on your computer, and watching movies with your computer, the experience of all of these things, and much more, is much better on the iPad. You may never use your computer again. I probably wont, except for when I program.

 

[nissan.gtp]

looking forward to see if they can come up with a good device ... an iPad/kindle combo would kick ass

and if it's really good, it will drive to make the iPad even better



...Microsoft ? ....

 

[marksman]

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This is a much bigger issue for other android tablet makers than it is for apple. Amazon could dominate the android tablet market because of their content delivery.

 

[vega07]

Let the games begin. Amazon is the only company I trust to fight a good battle against Apple. Too bad I just received my iPad 2 yesterday. Hopefully I won't be too jealous when Amazon's tablet comes out.

 

[aarond12]

This will not help Amazon's case about the generic term App Store when they are selling apps for their own tablet. This could be the turning point Apple is looking for.

 

[Cougarcat]

I'm more interested to see how low Amazon will price the Kindle this year.

 

[MacAddict1978]

What advantages would it have over the iPad, or The Galaxy Tab 10.1? Those are clearly the beasts on the market.

It's called an echo system, and Amazon is the only company next to Apple in the space to actually have one that is not only viable, but potentially greater. Samsung can't touch this.

Amazon even added it's own Android store. They are more price competitive than Apple as well in most cases. Someone else said it, but I'll second it. If they can hit back with software integration of their echo system, they could really kick butt.

Two things have hurt the Android tablet space: 1. no compelling all in one echo system 2. lack of apps.

Will be very interested to see what they put out. I could care less about cameras on a tablet. (Except for the random video chat that people really never use after 1 or 2 times anyway) I don't see the point.

If Amazon were smart (because there weren't with the Kindle in the beginning) they'll sell a tablet at a loss and make it back in sales with tight intergration in the tablet like the App Store & iTunes are with IOS devices. If they came out priced to sell, it would work. Not saying it needs to be priced so low it's a steal... but undercut the iPad $100 and I think that would favorably tip the scales. It would for me.