Amazon tablet to be significantly cheaper than iPad

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Supposedly the tablet uses a 9" screen:

http://gizmodo.com/5834844/amazons-t...-than-the-ipad

In the US you can already get the Barnes and Noble Nook Color for around $250:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nook_Color

I wonder if the Amazon tablet will be priced around the same level but with better specifications?? The Nook Color is not far off the iPad in specification and also uses an IPS panel.

[TeePee]

I have a Nook. Running Cyanogen mod 7.

[scaryjim]

There are loads of tablets cheaper than the iPad though It'll come down to specs and build quality. I'm not holding my breath... there must be a reason none of the good quality Android tablets are significantly cheaper than the iPad...

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The Nook color has decent build quality and is only around $250 in the US and was launched at the price level last year. It sold 3 million units in the US as of March 2011. If it had been launched worldwide as a low cost tablet at the 200 to 250 quid mark it would have sold many more units IMHO. The screen alone makes it better than the original Samsung Galaxy Tab.It has more or less the same hardware as my Motorola Defy meaning it will run Android 2.3 fine(it is a 7" tablet).

The Archos Series 9 is going to start at around 200 to 250 quid and has a dual core OMAP4 and SGX540 GPU.

This is why I can see a decent low cost tablet being sold by Amazon. It could be quite possible they will have low profit margins too so they can keep the price low like the Kindle.

[jim]

Pain in the arse really.

They know that if they price the same as the iPad, no-one will buy one, so they start really skimping on prices to make them needlessly cheap, and then no-one will buy one because they're rubbish.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Pain in the arse really.

They know that if they price the same as the iPad, no-one will buy one, so they start really skimping on prices to make them needlessly cheap, and then no-one will buy one because they're rubbish.

The Kindle is one of the cheapest e-book readers with an e-ink screen and is not rubbish. The Nook Color is hardly rubbish too. It has got an IPS display at the $250 price point. The Archos Series 9 is starting at 200 to 250 quid and hardly looks rubbish. It is faster than any current Android tablet made.

The only thing these tablets lack is a pritzy metal case.

[TeePee]

The Nook will run divx videos just fine, screen is bright and clear. Angry Birds works.

I'm told the Bluetooth is a little iffy, but I haven't tried it for myself.

[planet436]

The e-ink screens really do make a huge difference if you use tablets for a lot of reading, honestly if you get to compare them to an i-pad for reading books it's night and day. There is a market for low cost tablets with decent screens, I suspect this is what Amazon is trying to move into.

[jim]

The Kindle is one of the cheapest e-book readers with an e-ink screen and is not rubbish. The Nook Color is hardly rubbish too. It has got an IPS display at the $250 price point. The Archos Series 9 is starting at 200 to 250 quid and hardly looks rubbish. It is faster than any current Android tablet made.

The only thing these tablets lack is a pritzy metal case.

True, but the kindle is an e-book reader I would argue, not a tablet.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

True, but the kindle is an e-book reader I would argue, not a tablet.

However,before the recent incarnations of the Kindle e-book readers with e-ink displays were very expensive. It was only with the recent Kindle models that e-book readers with e-ink displays became affordable TBH. Amazon don't need to release a super duper tablet with a quad core and 2048x1536 screen. All they need to do is launch something which is fast enough to do the job but at a reasonable price. IMHO,if they even released a dual core tablet using a Tegra2 at 200 to 250 quid but with a decent screen and Android 3.2 it would do well. I would suspect it would have a reasonable design and build quality looking at the Kindle and also the Nook Color which would be a major competitor in the US.

You can get Tegra2 tablets such as the Hannspree Hannspad and Advent Vega for around 150 to 200 quid but these have rubbish screens and run older versions of Android too.

[DannyM]

I personally don't believe the issue has ever really been much about hardware, personally, if hardware were the reason behind a tablet then I'd say the iPad isn't that far up the pecking order.

It's all down to the software, now I believe android has a good platform now capable of been ideal for tablets (it did take a rather long time for this though) all it needs is a surge of tablet sales hopefully like this Amazon tablet (I'm assuming it will run android) to entice developers to start making apps for it.

Having said that, if Google are going ahead with current plans which I think they are, then Ice Cream sandwich will allow apps to run optimized across both platforms (tablets and phones).

All in all it could be very exciting, we as a consumer finally get a better choice in what we want because as an iPhone owner for a few years now, I'm just plain bored with iOS it's just boring, so many apps that are so a like, the home screen the lock screen, simplicity is good, but simplicity without customisation is plain old boring.

[Saracen]

If Amazon does, in fact, enter the tablet market with a low cost Android tablet this fall, they might be able to change the playing field to a lower margin one where Apple would be less able to compete. Could a low cost Amazon Android tablet present one of the first serious contenders to the iPad? Based on the latest Retrevo Pulse Report, it appears that consumers are ready to buy a low cost tablet and are very keen on one from Amazon......!

That's exactly what I'm waiting for. I don't want cheap rubbish, but I'm not paying iPad prices for an iPad - they're just not worth the money to me. So I'm after a compromise.

This is exactly the same stance I took on e-readers. At £300 and up, no way. At £100-ish, I'll buy if screen quality, battery life and feature set are right. With Kindle 3, they were, or close enough anyway.

And that's where I am with tablets - if a reputable namer comes up with a decent product at decent prices, I'll buy. But not until someone does.

[dangel]

I think chances are Amazon will launch a good tablet - as with e-readers it's not about the money they make on the hardware, it's the media sales on it thereafter (and of course they have their own marketplace too).

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

If you look at the Anandtech review of the Color Nook it has a fantastic IPS screen. AFAIK,the Lenovo IdeaPad A1 uses the same screen.

[Rob_B]

£150(max) for something about 8-10", must render web quickly, play divx & have a decent screen.

Give me ^^ that and I'll buy a tablet, I don't need apps, I've got my phone, I don't need games, I've got my PC.

I can't be the only one not wanting to blow even £250 on a tablet, I can buy a lappy for that. Amazon tablet might just grab my attention.

The HP touchpads were in my sights, sub £100 & I couldn't care less about the extra features, if I could just get hold of one that is

[MSIC]

I also think that Amazon are in the fortunate position (acknowledging that they have made their own luck) to be able to sell a system at close to cost, in order to promote the whole platform. They already have the ecosystem in place, the branding, and an acceptance of trust from the public (in my opinion).
Positioned as a slightly more expensive Kindle, they will sell like hot cakes.
If they could bring in a good (enough) system for the same cost as current kindles, they will catch Apple I reckon.