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More than a year after the release of Apple's original iPad, a credible challenger has yet to emerge. Android tablets appear too fragmented to mount a concentrated response, and companies such as BlackBerry lack expertise. Now Amazon looks to join the fray - but can they succeed where others failed?
Seeking a Challengerclick to enlargeApple's iPad has so far dominated the tablet scene. That's not to say there are no other quality tablets on the market; I'm a big fan of the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, for example. However, competing tablets have failed to generate the same surge of sales that the iPad has enjoyed.
There are many reasons for this. Consistency of the experience, price, app selection, display quality, performance - the list goes on. Despite what some detractors may claim, the iPad is not a product that stands on Apple's marketing power alone. It is a well rounded, fast, capable tablet that's priced on par with the competition.
We've come to a point where it seems that Apple may have earned a permanent stranglehold on the market, much as it enjoyed with the iPod at the beginning of this century. I wrote in favor of this view just a couple months ago. Now, however, an unexpected player is rumored to be entering the tablet market - Amazon. Do they bring anything to the tablet market that other companies have lacked?
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It's About the Money!Of all the rumors surrounding Amazon's tablet, the most interesting to me is the price: $250.
It's not hard to imagine that Amazon might debut a tablet at this price point. The Kindle was expensive at release, but it also was pioneering a form-factor and technology (eInk) that was cutting-edge at the time. Now that small devices such as the Kindle are more common, the price has come down significantly, making it the most affordable of the popular eReaders.
Amazon manages this partially because the hardware is simple, but that's not the whole story. The other reason for the Kindle's low cost is Amazon's ability to use it as a loss-leader. When you buy a Kindle, you're buying in to the Amazon ecosystem. You're buying books from them, and they make money with every sale. I don't know if Amazon makes profit on Kindle sales or not, but that's precisely not the point. The point is that it doesn't matter, because the Kindle itself is a revenue generating device for Amazon.
Apple also has this advantage via iTunes and the App Store. This may be why a company that is historically known for expensive hardware has managed to compete so well on price in the tablet and smartphone markets.
According to the rumors about the Kindle tablet, the new device would run Android, but a version that's heavily modified to integrate it with Amazon's store. Books, movies and even apps would be purchased through their respective Amazon storefronts rather than the default Android Market.
This is a unique position, and one that gives Amazon an edge over the Android tablets that have come before it. So far, the tablet market below $400 has consisted of gigantic pieces of dung barely worth their low prices. As such, there is a large un-tapped market for cheap tablets, and Amazon may be just the company to tap it.
The Hardware's Not Bad, Eitherclick to enlargeAnother important statistic is the Kindle tablet's rumored display size of seven inches. There have been seven inch tablets before, of course, but they've generally played second-fiddle to their large ten inch cousins. Bigger is better is the theory. A larger display means more pixels and a more enjoyable media experience.
Yet reality doesn't seem to have followed this theory. I've reviewed my fair share of tablet, and played with countless more. In my opinion, the seven inch form factor is clearly superior to the ten inch. Sure, you lose some display space, but that doesn't much matter. What matters is weight and size, and in those respects less is more.
A seven inch tablet is easier to carry, easier to handle, and easier to hold for long periods of time. Apple's refusal to create a smaller tablet has left a market segment open, and it's only by luck that the only people who've investigated it so far have been Samsung and BlackBerry.
Other stats of the Kindle tablet don't seem impressive. Rumors indicate that a single-core processor is likely, along with the typical 1GB of RAM. Oh well. So far, there's been little evidence to suggest that tablets are greatly improved by increased processing power, perhaps because the hardware itself is moving more quickly than developers can learn to take advantage of it. Yes, Infinity Blade for iPad is neat, but it's hardly the kind of software that sells tablets.
As such, I'm frankly not interested in what hardware the Kindle tablet might have inside. What matters is on the outside - the tablet's size and weight. If Amazon can ship a seven inch tablet with a weight similar to its Kindle eReaders, it will be an impressive product.
Image Credit: Tablet Planet
Can Amazon Crack the Market?
A Kindle tablet has potential. It solves the price problem that's plagued the iPad's competitors so far, and could present a form factor that will appeal to a different set of users. It's much easier to imagine consumers picking up a seven inch, $250 tablet to accompany them on trips than it is to imagine them purchasing a $500 or $600 Android tablet.
That's not to say Amazon's work will be simple, however. While the low rumored price will forgive it some weaknesses, it must not use that as an excuse for poor design. To be succesful, the tablet will need to be a solid product with acceptable performance. Apple doesn't make many mistakes and is quick to capitalize on those of its competitors.
I also have doubts about the ability of Amazon to reach critical mass with the tablet. The company does not share Kindle sales data, but estimates indicate that Amazon shifted between 4 and 6 million units worldwide in 2010. That's a lot, but it's nowhere near the iPad.
Amazon's lack of experience developing a consumer product for a market of this size could prove to be a challenge. Is Amazon able to handle the volume if the product catches on? Does Amazon have a retail presence that can strongly promote the device? Is Amazon prepared to launch a serious marketing campaign in support of a Kindle tablet?
These are questions that are essential, as this product can't make an impact as a low-volume device. That's because Amazon is tying the product in to its own app and content stores, rather than using the broader Android market. If Amazon can't sell a large volume of devices, developers won't put much thought into development for the Kindle tablet, which will no doubt hurt the user experience.
Since we've yet to see a product, it's too early to make any solid predictions. I believe that Amazon does have the tools to be successful, but it remains to be seen if the company can use those tools to craft an outstanding tablet experience. However, even if this tablet is successful, I doubt it will have a major impact on the iPad. It clearly will not be as large or as powerful as Apple's device, and given the large price gap, there should be room for both tablets to play.
ReferencesCourier Press: Amazon Working on Tablet DeviceTechCrunch: Amazon's Kindle Tablet is Very Real
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