5 Reasons The New Amazon Kindle Tablet Is A Very Real Threat To The Apple iPad
The rumors are true. Amazon is working on a tablet computer—currently called the Kindle Tablet—that will be released later this year. After months of speculation, Tech Crunch got an up-close-and-personal look at the Android-powered device that Amazon has created with the goal of competing with the Apple iPad 2, the BlackBerry PlayBook, and a host of other tablet computers in mind.
But, can the Kindle Tablet really compete with the big boys? In a word: Yes. After reading through the Tech Crunch report, it appears that Amazon has put a lot of time, thought, and effort into making the Kindle Tablet a serious contender in the tablet space. To help you see why, we pulled out the five reasons that we think the Kindle Tablet will make an immediate impact. If you’ve started to put together your Christmas list already, make sure this thing lands on it ASAP.
1. The Kindle Tablet is slated to cost just $250.
Now, we know what you’re thinking: If it only costs 250 bucks, then it can’t possibly do all the things that the iPad can do! Not true. There are some features you’ll get with the iPad that you won’t get with the Kindle Tablet—for instance, Amazon hasn’t found a service provider that’ll allow you to connect to a 3G network with the Kindle Tablet yet—but, for the most part, you’ll be able to do most of the things you can do on your iPad now with the Kindle Tablet for at least half the price.
2. It will feature an Android operating system that will be completely unique to the Kindle Tablet.
Rather than just offer an Android OS like “Honeycomb” or “Ice Cream Sandwich” that you’ve seen before, Amazon has worked with Android to create an OS that is like nothing you’ve ever experienced. It won’t be anything like the Android OS that you use with your smart phone or one of the operating systems that’s being used on other tablet computers right now. Tech Crunch also pointed out that the interface is easy to use and a sight to see.
3. It will encourage users to utilize Amazon’s cloud services.
Sometime soon, all tablet computers—and all computers in general—will rely on cloud services rather than bulky hard drives to store music, videos, and more. The Kindle Tablet is poised to be one of the first devices to force users to do it. That’s because the Kindle Tablet will reportedly only have about 6GB of storage on it. That’s remarkably small for a tablet, but it’s large when you consider that the Kindle Tablet will come preloaded with Amazon’s Cloud Player for music and Amazon’s Instant Video Player for movies. It means you’ll need a much smaller hard drive for your tablet, which is part of the reason Amazon is able to keep the price of the Kindle Tablet so low.
4. It will reportedly come with a free subscription to Amazon Prime.
The Amazon Prime service—which normally costs $79—gives Amazon shoppers advantages like free two-day shipping and no minimum purchases for free shipping. When you buy the Kindle Tablet, Tech Crunch says the plan is to give away a free subscription to Amazon Prime. So if you’re a frequent Amazon shopper, you’re basically getting a very useful service for free when you buy the Kindle Tablet.
5. Did we mention that it only costs $250?
Listen, we could go on and on and on listing the specs of the Kindle Tablet. But we’ll let you go to Tech Crunch to read about all of the bells and whistles that’ll come standard in the Kindle Tablet. All we care about is that someone has finally figured out a way to create a cool tablet for less than 500 bucks. At $250, the Kindle Tablet is worth the price of admission and we can pretty much guarantee that you’ll find one of these in our hands when it drops later this year. Sorry, Apple, but Amazon’s got the right idea here. And you’ve finally got some very real competition on your hands. We can’t wait to see how it plays out.
wow, 250$ price is really listed twice without knowing any specs and you’re labeling it as an ipad competitor with no other details?
horrible journalism.
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WTF your right about Scav, but I think Scav is also right about this one. Amazon is taking over like you have never seen before. Think Wal-Mart/Apple and that is what that are becoming. Watch!
I’m not keen on this having its own Android OS. Looks like a way Amazon will keep apps to themselves. That isn’t such a contender. And, I agree, there isn’t enough info here to perk my interest. Sort of read like a dumbed-down version of a school report.
Nook Color Android-based tablet/eReader from Barnes & Noble has been on the market for over a year and sold millions of units at $250. Gives Flash, apps, videos, color magazines and ebooks with video inserts, and the best anti-glare coated screen on the market. Technology “leader” Amazon is finally catching up with the book store company by copying their device.
Kindle only supports eBooks in its proprietary AZW format. Nook, on the other hand, supports both DRM-protected and DRM-free ebooks in ePub format thus it supports ebooks from B&N store, from any other DRM-free source on the web, and from public libraries.
If you walk in with the Nook to Barnes & Noble store, you’re allowed to read any available eBook for free while in the store via free provided in the store Wi-Fi.
Nook Color has several apps that already come with the device (Pandora Internet radio, QuickOffice, etc.) and hundreds of other apps are available for download. Also, you can use the Social Settings screen to link your NOOK Color to your Facebook account and your Twitter account. You can also import all your contacts from your Google Gmail account. Once you have linked to Facebook and Twitter and set up email contacts, you can lend and borrow books, recommend books, and share favorite quotes with your friends.
[...] Amazon Tablet is looking better than a NookColor or iPad! Might have to spring for one… http://live.drjays.com/index.php/2011/09…. And here’s some more info on what’s coming from [...]
[...] Cost is not the true advantage for the Amazon tablet. After all, Samsung and other competitors have already entered the market with prices below Apple. The edge that puts Amazon above the rest is the existing content delivery infrastructure. The success of all Apple iOS products has been largely dependent on the integration of iTunes and the App Store. No other manufacturer has such a massive content network in place to support their hardware…until now. Amazon already has relationships in place with publishers of all media types. They have a massive user base already shopping over their network. And they now have a fully integrated Amazon App Store. Amazon is poised like nobody else to compete directly with Apple at every level. [...]