Amazon is ready to take over the tablet market

Amazon is ready to hit the tablet market hard, says the NYPost, as early as late September.

Sources claim the e-tailing giant will release an Android-powered device in either late September or early October, while severely undercutting the iPad's market making $500 price tag.

The tablet will sell for either $199 or $299 (the price is still unclear), a price seen by only one tablet in recent memory, the newly launched Vizio Tablet (formerly VIA).

Additionally, it has become clear that users who were on the fence about tablets will buy in droves if the price is right. When HP put their Touchpad on firesale last week at $99 (down from $499), the company managed to sell hundreds of thousands per day, with the popularity taking down servers of big and small companies alike.

Because Amazon is expected to have higher-end specs in their tablet, the company is also expected to take a loss on each tablet sold, in order to make up the deficit in app, music, movie and e-book sales.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Aug 2011 18:16

plutonash

Hmm $199 isnt too bad actually, especially with good specs. A lot of people who wanted a good cheap tablet probably still yearn for one and amazon will profit off of this lust.

"Cable thief is a victimless crime."

27.8.2011 18:35 #1

DVDBack23

Originally posted by plutonash: Hmm $199 isnt too bad actually, especially with good specs. A lot of people who wanted a good cheap tablet probably still yearn for one and amazon will profit off of this lust. Amazon is the only company in the world outside of Google with an ecosystem strong enough to compete with Apple on any level.

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27.8.2011 19:21 #2

shortybob

Bold move, Amazon...

27.8.2011 19:27 #3

KillerBug

The real lesson of the HP tablet is not that people were on the fence and then the price made it acceptable...the lesson is that when you cut the price to 1/3 what it cost to make at large volume, people buy them for non-tablet tasks. I ordered a pair of those HP tablets...one is going into my car as a radio faceplate, the other is going to my dad...who has never used his laptop for anything more complicated than sending an email...and I wouldn't even be getting it for him if not for the fact that a replacement battery for his laptop would cost more than the tablet.

27.8.2011 19:30 #4

Billers (unverified)

This is long over due. I held out hope that Barnes and Nobles would come through on this. Their product is so close.

27.8.2011 20:30 #5

wmurch3 (unverified)

Undercutting Apple in price is a good idea. However, Im just not sure Amazon would be able to make their money back without somehow locking users into purchasing Apps/Music/Movies directly from their markets. The Nook Color achieved this pretty well at the expense of not making their tablet a full-blown android tablet.

27.8.2011 22:05 #6

KillerBug

Originally posted by wmurch3: Undercutting Apple in price is a good idea. However, Im just not sure Amazon would be able to make their money back without somehow locking users into purchasing Apps/Music/Movies directly from their markets. The Nook Color achieved this pretty well at the expense of not making their tablet a full-blown android tablet. They will probably have some kind of app certification process and their own store filled with certified apps. They will probably take a percentage of sales fees and/or ad revenue, plus they will probably charge for the certification. In addition, they will probably build custom apps for it that would promote sales of amazon digital content (music, TV shows, etc) as well as amazon in general. So, if you are listening to an MP3, it might have a little pane that says something like, "The new album by ____...buy it here!" They might even go so far a to remove Android Market as a "Security Risk"...but even if they do this, the android market (and ad-free media players) will come back as soon as the thing gets rooted.

27.8.2011 22:41 #7

ddp

killer, could have bought the laptop battery for lot less then the tablet as i've done it a couple of times for customers.

27.8.2011 22:44 #8

LordRuss

Next up on the Price Is Right!!! I believe this all to show that people are tired of paying 'what the market will bear' as apposed to what is basically right in the eyes of the consumer.

Other than people with hordes of disposable cash & myopic minds who don't care what things cost, the average consumer just isn't going to be snowed. HP should now realize this seeing as consumers just told them that the products they produce are only actually seen as being 1/5th their initial, bloated worth.

Redundantly, if corporations would quit trying to retire in one night off of a single sale (as apposed to actually earning it) there might be a few less hardships all around. But we already know this ain't going to happen.

http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

28.8.2011 13:03 #9

llongtheD

Originally posted by LordRuss: Next up on the Price Is Right!!! I believe this all to show that people are tired of paying 'what the market will bear' as apposed to what is basically right in the eyes of the consumer.

Other than people with hordes of disposable cash & myopic minds who don't care what things cost, the average consumer just isn't going to be snowed. HP should now realize this seeing as consumers just told them that the products they produce are only actually seen as being 1/5th their initial, bloated worth.

Redundantly, if corporations would quit trying to retire in one night off of a single sale (as apposed to actually earning it) there might be a few less hardships all around. But we already know this ain't going to happen. If and it's a big IF, we had a transparent government that didn't allow corporations greasing politicians, and passing their own laws maybe. However, I'd have to disagree with you on the average consumer getting snowed. The average consumer is up to its eyebrows in debt getting the latest and greatest gadgets they don't need and can't afford. That's what keeps this ugly broken machine moving.

If your fish seems sick, put it back in the water.

29.8.2011 00:15 #10

LordRuss

Originally posted by llongtheD: ...I'd have to disagree with you on the average consumer getting snowed. The average consumer is up to its eyebrows in debt getting the latest and greatest gadgets they don't need and can't afford. That's what keeps this ugly broken machine moving. True, but peer pressure & penis envy are a hard 'drug' to overcome. Don't get me wrong, I'm not making excuses for me or anyone else, but 'gadget whoring' isn't the only thing driving the narcissistic corporations into an utterly sublime orgasmic fervor.

Without changing my position of the 'average consumer', I am merely saying that an average consumer doesn't normally investigate what the true value of something is. A lot of them just feed into their sense of immediate gratification, thus perpetuating the monster I believe you're describing.

But then again, we neglected mentioning the purchase of a house 3x's the useful need (or actual worth) or the purchase of a car that is extremely bloated & far more than useful either & that much larger impact on the economy's current state. A couple hundred bucks is a much smaller impact as apposed to 10's of thousands (per average consumer). The primary portion of the problem stems from the corporate elitists snake oiling John Q Public into believing that they can indeed afford all these luxuries. Thus I call it a huge gap in using one's common sense.

http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

29.8.2011 12:36 #11

llongtheD

Originally posted by LordRuss: Originally posted by llongtheD: ...I'd have to disagree with you on the average consumer getting snowed. The average consumer is up to its eyebrows in debt getting the latest and greatest gadgets they don't need and can't afford. That's what keeps this ugly broken machine moving. True, but peer pressure & penis envy are a hard 'drug' to overcome. Don't get me wrong, I'm not making excuses for me or anyone else, but 'gadget whoring' isn't the only thing driving the narcissistic corporations into an utterly sublime orgasmic fervor.

Without changing my position of the 'average consumer', I am merely saying that an average consumer doesn't normally investigate what the true value of something is. A lot of them just feed into their sense of immediate gratification, thus perpetuating the monster I believe you're describing.

But then again, we neglected mentioning the purchase of a house 3x's the useful need (or actual worth) or the purchase of a car that is extremely bloated & far more than useful either & that much larger impact on the economy's current state. A couple hundred bucks is a much smaller impact as apposed to 10's of thousands (per average consumer). The primary portion of the problem stems from the corporate elitists snake oiling John Q Public into believing that they can indeed afford all these luxuries. Thus I call it a huge gap in using one's common sense. Agreed, though I do hope Amazon gives them a run for their money. As long as they don't remotely delete files off of them (without consent) like they've done with controversial books on the Kindle.

If your fish seems sick, put it back in the water.

29.8.2011 19:24 #12

LordRuss

Originally posted by llongtheD: As long as they don't remotely delete files off of them (without consent) like they've done with controversial books on the Kindle. Not owning a Kindle I wouldn't know if this is true, but if it is, we are quickly getting to a point where corporations are turning into complete fascist dictators (more so than usual).

Censorship is one of my biggest peeves on the planet. Even to be confined here in this forum can be a source of irritation for me. So to hear that Amazon is possibly pulling this has me 'chomping at the bit'. Other than publications touting the need for people to wantonly go out & commit murder or raping children there is little reason for a book to be 'banned' from a purchasable library.

Sounds to me like Amazon is either hiding a religious conviction of their own or they have kowtowed to the religious 'minority' & their slanted agenda. But then I'm just speculating again.

http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

30.8.2011 11:28 #13

llongtheD

Originally posted by LordRuss: Originally posted by llongtheD: As long as they don't remotely delete files off of them (without consent) like they've done with controversial books on the Kindle. Not owning a Kindle I wouldn't know if this is true, but if it is, we are quickly getting to a point where corporations are turning into complete fascist dictators (more so than usual).

Censorship is one of my biggest peeves on the planet. Even to be confined here in this forum can be a source of irritation for me. So to hear that Amazon is possibly pulling this has me 'chomping at the bit'. Other than publications touting the need for people to wantonly go out & commit murder or raping children there is little reason for a book to be 'banned' from a purchasable library.

Sounds to me like Amazon is either hiding a religious conviction of their own or they have kowtowed to the religious 'minority' & their slanted agenda. But then I'm just speculating again. They remotely deleted a couple of George Orwells books, 1984, and animal farm. They did restore them, and had a nice tidy corporate response for their actions. It has been reported on this site as well, a couple of years ago. Odd that it was those controversial books, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for now.

If your fish seems sick, put it back in the water.

31.8.2011 04:37 #14

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