http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...-threatens-to-challenge-ipad-s-dominance.html So nothing really new, most everything has been mentioned separately in a couple of different threads, but as it is coming out next week and condensing it into one. One thing that struck me, which makes sense, but I never really thought about is that Amazon really doesn't need to make any money off of this. I knew they were going to leverage their 'cloud' resources to cut costs to well below the Ipad but hadn't really thought about the fact that they could go straight console model. Especially if as rumored this is just a placeholder to build some market share, app support, etc to prep for their super duper E-ink/full color touchscreen hybrid they are working on getting out next year. Does anyone here plan on getting one? Why or why not?
Wrong, right out of the gate. The first tablet that functioned as well as the iPad was the iPad. I'm interested to see what Amazon puts on the block, but it's not going to be an iPad killer. The iPad killer? That was the iPad 2. This is another paradigm in which Apple dominates because Apple defined the paradigm. It set the standard that everyone else is keeping up with. The only non-Apple tablet to catch my eye so far? The B&N NookColor. Apple is doing itself a huge disservice by refusing to offer a 7" entry.
Meh. Amazon will so tie the tablet to it's store and market it will be a very niche piece that becomes a too expensive ereader with less battery life.
$199. you, Apple! Yeah, it's using a modified version of Android and it's dependant a lot on Amazon cloud storage, but at least I can actually use it with my PC, unlike that Apple shite. I just preordered one. Don't care that it doesn't come with a webcam. I already own a digital camera so I can take pictures of my dick and send them around the interwebs.
I'm interested in a small device for web surfing, email, Skyping, map referencing etc, while on the road in Europe next month. This device seems okay but has no webcam for Skype, and it's being released too late for me. I'm leaning toward the iPod Touch, though the screen is too small to be considered a tablet. Any advice there?
I don't know. Do I? 3G is mobile telephone connection, right? That seems expensive and might not work abroad, so probably no.
Amazon's not competing with Apple with this... they're competing with Google... wait, scratch that, they're basically farting in Apple's face, and then sucker-punching Google. An old, still-open revision of Android, and a web browser which completely destroys Google's business model of tracking people and their searches by proxying every web request. And at a price point that a lot of people are going to buy it. This takes balls.
I hadn't thought about the Google ad aspect. That really is a giant FUCK. YOU. On the OS aspect, do you think this weds Amazon to Android for the foreseeable future? I was kinda hoping they'd grab up WebOS.
I think they're going to fork Android if they decide they need to. They've already got their own version of the Android Market (which it seems will be the only market on the Fire), a fork of Android seems like the next logical step.
It's the only thing that makes having a tablet worth while to me. They are mobile, when I'm home I use a laptop; at work too, though the tablet allows me to go places without my my employer tracking it at work if I want.
Don't know about Amazons tablet, but Apple sure are bricking it about Samsungs Galaxy........... http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/...duce-customers-court-told-20110929-1kyl5.html
Meh, just set up a hotspot on your phone if you are in an area without Wi-fi, which in a city is becoming increasingly rare.
Public wifi is always painfully slow. The phone hotspot isn't a terrible idea but I like not having to go through that hassle every time I want to get on the web with my ipad. And the cost is only 10 more a month for that.
Here's what (someone at) Gizmodo is saying: http://gizmodo.com/5844712/why-the-kindle-fire-beat-the-ipad-2-for-me?tag=kindle [EDITED] Apparently the crossing out didn't copy/paste. It does have external speakers.
Oh, and yes, I realize I posted this in the RR thread, but it's worth the double; the Seattle Times daily haiku: Amazon sets Fire Will Apple get a hot foot? Or is this all smoke?
I'm assuming that it will only play content bought on Amazon? So no loading/streaming your own video files onto it?
As good as Amazon has been with DRM, I can't imagine them changing horses midstream. Amazon were one of the first big companies offer music without DRM, and I cannot imagine why they would change horses mainstream on the philosophy. In fact, Amazon has thrived in the media markets because of their media pricing and I would expect that they would have a "if you love them set them free" mentality. About the forking issue: I have been under the impression since I first heard about this that Amazon was going to a fully forked version based off of the Android 2.2 platform. After a few distinctive delineations with Google, I think that Amazon's system will basically be considered its own. I'm also curious about the licensing issues that are being pursued against Google over Android, and how Amazon will handle this. Their legal department has to have strategy, but Google has a great legal team and these issues have not gone away for them.
If you were looking for a good cheap tablet then you should have jumped on the $100 price of that HP Touchpad. That was a steal. Any company looking to break into the iPad's market should take this strategy. Sell your tablet at a loss and plan to make up for it through app purchases and other stuff like that. The catch is that you better get some really solid apps out there so the people buying your tablet are willing to pay for them. After you take a reasonable chunk of the market you can begin charging breakeven to profitable prices for your tablet as well. This is just a strategy for breaking Apple's death grip on the market.
Well, while Amazon does have a special App Store (which will likely be the exclusive place to get Kindle Fire apps), they aren't just restricted to Apps. They've got everything they can sell, not just digital content (movies, music, books, cloud storage), but EVERYTHING. Imagine making a shopping list and with one click have it delivered to your house, that kind of thing. Amazon is basically putting their store in everyone's pocket and making it stupid simple to purchase from.
Apple is sounding like a bunch of whiny bitches in that article. I find their cries of "Oh no someone may take market share away from us. Protect us oh government, protect us." to be nauseating. And I think the article nails it. The idea place for a tablet running iOS or Android is as a mid-gap device between the phone and laptop/pc. Apple may have packed way too much into the iPad. But their selection of Heinlein eBooks is horrible.
The price. When an iPad costs as much as a lower to mid range laptop you are blurring the lines. You cant easily write War and Peace or work on the companies budget numbers on an iPad. The screen is too far apart to manipulate the on screen keyboard. So how do you lower the price? Reduce the size of the screen, maybe reduce the horse power under the hood. You can do this and still have a fantastic device that you can watch movies on, browse the web, etc..
