Tech ninja Amazon is poised for mobile domination

It seems every day sees a new rumor that Amazon is about to release an Android tablet that will put the retailer firmly in competition with Google. These rumors surprise many and get folks in a dither with the thought that Amazon can compete in the mobile tech space. The fact is Amazon has already snuck up on the big players by slyly slipping into the Android ecosystem from so many different angles it is already competing with Google. The latest rumor to surface has Amazon not only working on a single Amazon tablet but a whole line of tablets designed to pass the Android tablet makers by in one fell swoop.

I have been shouting from the web for a while that Amazon is doing a lot of things to get ready to disrupt the mobile space. None of these things alone are reason enough for those in the Android space to sound the alarm, but put them together and Amazon has quietly slipped into position to take things over. As my colleague Adrian Kingsley-Hughes said today on Twitter, Amazon is the tech ninja nobody sees coming.

If the latest rumor pans out and Amazon is working on a line of powerful Android tablets, the company may take over the entire non-iPad tablet segment. No company producing Android tablets has risen up as the dominant one, so the top spot is wide open. Amazon could make a tablet (or line of tablets) with a variant of Android optimized for both the hardware and the Amazon retail ecosystem that will set them apart from the uninspiring Android tablet field.

Make no mistake, Amazon has already locked up the Android ecosystem as predicted. I suspect they already sell more ebooks on the platform than anyone else. They almost certainly sell more digital music on the Android platform than anyone else. They are locking up the cloud music streaming business. They are in the process of selling the cream of the Android apps through the Amazon Appstore. Savvy Android device owners have already gotten in the habit of not buying and Android app without buying from the Amazon store first, as it might be cheaper or even free there.

Amazon has already quietly slipped in the gate, so don't be surprised when they take things over. That's what tech ninjas do.

Image credit: Flickr user glasgow's finest

See related coverage:

• Today Amazon locked up the Android ecosystem
• Is Amazon set to go after Apple in the mobile space?
• OEMs: Tablets are impulse purchases and different pricing rules apply