An Amazon Tablet?
Rumors in the tech sector have been flying for some time about the possibility of Amazon
releasing a tablet that will run the Android operating system…apparently those rumors are true!
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Amazon plans to release their own Android based tablet this fall (just in time for the Christmas shopping season!), however, the first generation may not be much competition for the iPad so much as a step towards taking the market away from Google.
Here’s what we know so far about the Amazon tablet:
- It will have a 9 inch screen
- It will run a version of Android
- It probably won’t have a camera
And, this version won’t be designed by Amazon. Instead, the design and manufacturing of Amazon’s first generation tablet has been outsourced to quickly gain a foothold in the market. Amazon’s own version, which they ARE designing themselves will reportedly be released next year.
So, is the Amazon tablet an iPad killer?
Is it even a competitor? Considering that Apple has a corner on the tablet market that no one has really touched right now, Amazon might be able to compete if their tablet is extremely cheap, and that’s going to be very difficult to accomplish if the technology is to compare with the iPad or other similar tablets on the market.
Still, even if Amazon releases a reasonably inexpensive tablet this fall, would you buy one instead of an iPad? Maybe. And again maybe not. After all, this is Amazon’s first tablet, and unless there’s something pretty spectacular about it, it likely won’t be any more of a threat to the iPad than the other tablets…why? Because there are typically two types of customers. Apple customers, whom you can’t convince to try any other device, and those who aren’t Apple customers, who probably won’t try the Apple device.
Who Should Really Be Worried About Amazon’s Tablet
Either way, an Amazon tablet should be of more concern to Barnes & Noble and to Google, who have both recently released eReaders to directly compete with the Kindle, because Amazon’s tablet will undoubtedly ship with Amazon’s stores pre-installed, meaning customers can access Amazon’s movies, music, books, and much more…all with a single touch.
