Amazon’s 7-inch color tablet, dubbed Kindle Fire, is priced just below $200, considerably less than what was expected. In aiming for the low end of the tablet market, Amazon apparently is willing to accept losses on its hardware sales in order to fuel purchases from its online retail businesses, including streaming video to many types of devices. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (9/29), Bloomberg Businessweek (9/28), GigaOm (9/28), InformationWeek (9/28)
Kindle tablet establishes two-tier market, analysts say: Analysts are pondering whether Amazon’s new Kindle Fire will disrupt the Apple iPad’s domination of the sector. Some suggest that both products could prosper with the establishment of a two-tier market for tablets based on the apparently broad consumer appetite for both the $500 iPad and more budget-minded devices. The Kindle Fire could also present a steep challenge to Microsoft’s Windows 8-powered tablet hopes, one analyst suggests. Computerworld (9/28), CNET (9/28), MocoNews.net (9/28), Network World (9/28), CNET (9/28)
What’s inside the new tablet: Amazon’s new tablet should appeal most to those who want to consume media rather than those looking for a device loaded with bells and whistles, industry observers said, noting that the Kindle Fire lacks such features as a camera and microphone. The media also pointed to the Fire’s “radical” Silk browser, which could speed up the device by putting much of the computing burden in the cloud. CIO.com (9/28), CIO.com/IDG News Service (9/28), VentureBeat (9/28)
