According to Peter Rojas, the former editor of Engadget who is now over at GDGT, it's already an "open secret that Amazon is working on an Android tablet," and he is "99%" sure that Samsung is responsible for the hardware.
It's got to be an Android tablet, but Honeycomb already seems out of the running as Amazon will likely utilize "Android as a base upon which to build a totally customized experience that tightly integrates Amazon services." There aren't any other specifics as to processors or other specs.
However, we could probably assume this is a 7-inch slate, which could end up looking like another Samsung Galaxy Tab, but also more like Barnes & Noble's Nook Color. The latter is basically either a tricked-out e-book reader or a very simple tablet. Nevertheless, the Nook Color is still a tablet in some sense, making it the most likely base idea and competitor for Amazon's new tablet. The name "Kindle Color" might be too obvious, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's exactly what it turns out to be.
With an older version of Android on board, it's difficult to imagine this Amazon tablet outscoring the iPad 2. However, if Amazon can propose a low-enough price point (anything below $300 needs to be a starting point), then we might just have a new battle on our hands here.
[via IntoMobile]
Related coverage on ZDNet:
- Apple vs. Samsung - Blurring the line between paying homage and blatantly ripping off
- Seagate lands Samsung's hard drive unit for $1.37 billion: It's duopoly time
- T-Mobile Sidekick 4G hands-on: Can Android bridge the Sidekick gap?
- eBay pushes mobile commerce with WHERE purchase
- Amazon Kindle to support library lending; Closes gap with Sony, Barnes & Noble
Join Discussion