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Topic: Amazon

Details leak about Amazon Kindle Tablet

Summary: Lucky MG Siegler of TechCrunch has gotten some secret hands-on time with the Amazon Kindle Tablet. He's shared a lot of information about it, and readers of this blog will find it familiar.

James Kendrick

By for Mobile News |

The Amazon tablet is the worst kept secret in tech, and today MG Siegler has played with it. The Kindle Tablet according to MG is a 7-inch tablet that runs a hybrid Android designed to make Amazon's device, well, Amazon's. There are no Google apps (including the Android Market) on the Kindle Tablet. The entire premise behind the new tablet according to MG is to sell you more Amazon stuff.

Readers of this blog will find this information familiar, as I called this months ago. MG has filled in some solid information, although understandably no photos. Let's see how the new information compares with my earlier conjectures.

JK: I don’t see Amazon’s tablet as a product going after the Android tablet market at all. I believe it would be intended to extend the company’s retail operation into the next logical space.

MG: Amazon’s content store is always just one click away. The book reader is a Kindle app (which looks similar to how it does on Android and iOS now). The music player is Amazon’s Cloud Player. The movie player is Amazon’s Instant Video player. The app store is Amazon’s Android Appstore.

JK: It will be a full Android tablet, don’t misunderstand me, but its primary purpose will be to sell you Amazon products, and then provide a nice mobile method to consume those products. A Kindle on steroids, if you will.

MG: So why will people buy this device instead of a Nook Color? Well, beyond the deep Amazon services integration, there will be two other reasons, I believe. First, Amazon is going to promote the hell out of this thing on Amazon.com. Second, the plan right now is to give buyers a free subscription to Amazon Prime.

JK: I envision constant promotions aimed at Amazon tablet owners. Free shipping for any product bought from the tablet or big discounts for similar purchases. Amazon is a master at playing the retail game, and this will fit perfectly into that. Amazon doesn’t want to sell you a tablet, they want the tablet to sell you lots of other stuff.

MG: The [Amazon Prime] service, which Amazon currently sells for $79 a year, gives users access things like free unlimited two-day shipping, and no minimum purchases for free shipping. More importantly for this product, Prime users get access to Amazon’s Instant Video service. There will be more Kindle-related perks, I imagine.

MG has a lot of specific information about the hardware of the Kindle Tablet, and mentions that Amazon will be pricing it at $250. Head over and check out all of the information MG's sharing and see what you think. One thing that seems likely is while the Kindle Tablet will compete price-wise with the Nook Color, Amazon is not likely going to let techies mess around with installing regular Android on it. Not with free Prime accounts and product discounts on the line. Will you buy a Kindle Tablet for $250?

Topics: Amazon, Hardware, Laptops, Mobility, Tablets

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20 comments
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  • RE: Details leak about Amazon Kindle Tablet

    How is it a "full Android tablet" if it only runs apps from Amazon and their market?
    Nook look-alike, not an IPad killer.
    Scrabbler
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Details leak about Amazon Kindle Tablet

      @Scrabbler Read my previous article that is linked, it is not intended to compete with Android tablets. It is simply intended to sell you more Amazon stuff. The whole purpose for its release.
      JamesKendrick
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Details leak about Amazon Kindle Tablet

        @JamesKendrick Seems as though you are ducking Scrabbler's point about your own statement: how indeed can it be called a "full Android tablet" if it does not "compete" with Android tablets that do have Market access? That strikes most of us Android users as the core requirement for Android "fullness".

        On the other hand, Amazon's Android app market has many of the same apps as the "real" App Market, so that seems to me as being pretty darn close to Android fullness - maybe 3/4 Android (although, for some reason, I could not find the Nook app to load on my X86 Android installation... ;-) ).

        As for my interest in this to "upgrade" from my Archos 5? Not likely to happen if it is indeed as locked down as you seem to think it will be. If the Samsung Note is equally tied to cell carriers, and the Latte Ice Smart is as much a dud as I am suspecting, then I do not see much to entice me to bigger, clunkier Android tablets, except maybe the Nook Color since it is not quite so clunky and so open, and versatile due to that openness, along with being reasonably priced (altho I probably should wait for any pricing "adjustments" by B&N once the "Kindroid" hits the streets).

        I think B&N will be in trouble in this product line on this basis if most potential buyers are more focused on being Amazonians in a conveniently portable electronic mode, and not interested in Android fullness. One thing that keeps me more tied to B&N ebooks is that they are about the easiest to decrypt for viewing on any of my devices (Linux, Maemo) that do not have apps/DRM hindrances. So Amazon won't entice me for that reason, also. Still, "never say never" - have to see how it plays out.
        aroc
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Details leak about Amazon Kindle Tablet

        @aroc,
        Re the reason you're more tied to B&N ebooks, google this:

        alf perplexed

        and you'll find something that couldn't be easier for ebooks you've purchased.
        andrys1
        Reply Vote

  • Why would anyone want such a limited tablet when they could get a Windows 8

    tablet and run Amazon apps on it instead? Just like Amazon makes kindle readers for Windows Phone and iPhone and ipad that make buying a kindle very limited this is even worse.
    Johnny Vegas
    Reply Vote

  • The Kindle's two main advantages are it's light weight and

    It's daylight viewable screen display.

    The Kindle on steroids will lose it's daylight screen advantage and it's weight should increase.

    Therefore, it's only advantages left will be it's rumored low price and its's identification with Amazon and tight integration with Amazon's content distribution network.

    James is right. This tablet is not designed to be an Android device killer or iPad fighter.

    But, I suspect it will due quite nicely in the marketplace.
    kenosha77a
    Reply Vote

  • If this is True - What a Shame

    I figured any Amazon tablet would have deep ties into Amazon, but I was hoping it would have the additional functionality of a real tablet. If it is just a way to watch videos (from Amazon), listen to music (from Amazon's Cloud) and maybe read books (from Amazon), No Thanks. I will wait for the Win8 tablets next year. Love my Kindle, but I will pass on this.
    jpr75_z
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Details leak about Amazon Kindle Tablet

      Agree. I'm good with deep ties to Amazon.com but would not buy a tablet without a large selection of apps. <br>All my friends at work say the same thing. I hope Amazon removes this restriction at launch.
      hnmedcom
      Reply Vote

    • Update: This is the New Kindle

      I just read the original article at Tech Crunch. This is not a tablet per se, even though the tech press is calling it one. It is called the "Amazon Kindle". No "tablet" anywhere in the name. Think of it as a souped up Kindle with a bigger color screen and additional functionality. It will not have e-ink, which means reading outside, at the beach, or even in a sunny room inside will be no better than trying to read a laptop screen in these environments. Trade offs for sure. I will have to wait and see what this new device is like when it is released.
      jpr75_z
      Reply Vote

  • Prime

    So as a long time Prime member if I order one how will that work on my account? I get switched over to the no charge?

    Don't expect you to know, just wondering.
    oneleft
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Details leak about Amazon Kindle Tablet

    Color me disappointed, this is not the serious iPad competitor that many of us expected and hoped for. (I say this as a content creator and publisher, not a tech geek.)<br><br>But let's get serious here and ask the question why would Amazon tip its hand to Apple and B&N 45-60 days from introduction, to a single blogger, no matter how influential? I think there's a good chance that it's some sort of smokescreen, that the actual release unit at $250 will be either higher spec (8GB, 10-inch screen or both) or this device will actually be introduced at the magic $199 price point (coming out of the box seriously undercutting the Nook Color and forcing B&N to respond). Then there's the possibility of a second unit with a 10-inch screen with 16GB of memory at $279-$299 (current Vizio tablet price), close to an iPad 2 in overall spec. That strategy makes more sense, don't most of you agree? Otherwise all this talk of Amazon selling five million tablets in the 4Q will never happen, especially if it isn't released until late October or early November.<br><br>Richard Truesdell<br>Editorial Director Automotive Traveler Magazine, automotivetraveler.com
    autotraveler
    Reply Vote

  • mys

    thanks http://www.tutuklu.com comment
    tutuklu
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Details leak about Amazon Kindle Tablet

    Two Questions: Is this also running a Freescale ASIC? Has Amazon figured out any way to avoid the patent troll side of the Android ecosystem?
    jeanshack
    Reply Vote

  • Nook Color clone

    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 "giant" Amazon is finally catching up with the book store company by copying their device.
    eco733
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Details leak about Amazon Kindle Tablet

    I just got a $829.99 iPad2 for only $103.37 and my mom got a $1499.99 HDTV for only $251.92, they are both coming with USPS tomorrow. I would be an idiot to ever pay full retail prices at places like Walmart or Bestbuy. I sold a 37" HDTV to my boss for $600 that I only paid $78.24 for. I use C o o l C e n t. c o m
    chrizz123
    Reply Vote

  • Overpriced and Underfeatured

    It's got a 7" screen. Single core processor. Only 6GB memory. No camera. Limited touch functionality. It runs a hacked up version of Android prior to 2.2. It sounds more like a sub-$100 tablet than a $250 device.

    Plus, you're locked into the Amazon ecosystem. Yuck. If people want to be locked in, they can buy Apple devices which are better and more feature rich.

    I predict initial good sales, provided they get it out in time for Christmas shopping. It will do good until the negative reviews start rolling in when people realize they bought an overpriced and underfeatured tablet.
    ancientprogrammer
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Details leak about Amazon Kindle Tablet

    Think of it as a souped up Kindle with a bigger color screen and additional functionality. It will not have e-ink, which means reading outside, at the beach, or even in a sunny room inside will be no better than trying to read a laptop screen in these environments.<a href="http://sazkove-kancelaree.cz">sazkove tipy</a>
    marco5811
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  • RE: Details leak about Amazon Kindle Tablet

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