According to a story in the New York Post today, Amazon will be launching its Android tablet in either late September or early October, and it will go on sale for “hundreds less” than the iPad’s cheapest version, which currently retails for $499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi-only version. The New York Post says that its information on the Amazon tablet comes from a source with knowledge of Amazon’s plans. The source also says that by managing to make a tablet that comes in as a lot cheaper than the iPad, it has already succeeded where so many other tablet makers have failed before it has even gone on sale.

Meanwhile, the Post reports that lower-priced Android tablets are the key to Android chipping away at Apple’s dominant iPad.

“We expect to see more and more lower-end, more affordable Android devices enter the marketplace, which should further allow Android to increase its share,” Tony Berkman, CEO of ITG told the Post.

So, should Apple be unduly concerned about an Amazon tablet, possibly one bearing the Kindle brand name?

Source: $99 tablets: Price is right - NYPOST.com

Competition is a good thing. Amazon certainly has the juice to make a go of a competitive tablet. Apple has a good headstart, but will need to have timely upgrades to keep its lead. Monopoly leads to stagnation. The customer wins if Apple is forced to stay on its toes.

With my new laptop, I find the number of niche things I use my iPad for dwindling and dwindling. It's basically a long battery life net browser, with add on movies and the occasional e-reading and glance at a newspaper. In retrospect it really wasn't worth the hundreds of dollars I paid for it. This sounds killer!

Just as the clear line between a tablet and a laptop tends to blur as the former gains functionality and the latter improves battery life and loses weight, the line between an eReader and a tablet is likely to blur as the former devices increase in terms of functionality.

It's not clear to me what the Kindle "Tablet" is going to be/look like, but I suspect it will "one up" the current Nook Color eReader (also an Android device). As it does so, trying to determine whether it is a low priced tablet or a high priced eReader will be more and more difficult to determine.

The Nook Color sells for $249 and has already been characterized as a "reader's tablet." (CNET). I suspect the Kindle Tablet will come close to that price (meeting the "hundreds less than the iPad" standard) and offer some bells and whistles that are either improvements on the Nook or features not available on the Nook.

I've been looking forward to Amazon joining the fray.

Will the Amazon tablet be a 7" "giant phone" tablet or will it really be comparable to the iPad? Will hundreds less mean $200 less ($300-$530)? Will it have 3G data and will you have to buy a 2 year contract? Some rumors say it will not even have a camera in order to make a price point. Depending on all of these, it might not even be a good buy.

Or it might be $99 for a WiFi unit meaning it would sell out.

Originally Posted by TheBigCheese

Will the Amazon tablet be a 7" "giant phone" tablet or will it really be comparable to the iPad? Will hundreds less mean $200 less ($300-$530)? Will it have 3G data and will you have to buy a 2 year contract? Some rumors say it will not even have a camera in order to make a price point. Depending on all of these, it might not even be a good buy.

Or it might be $99 for a WiFi unit meaning it would sell out.

It certainly won't be a $99 unit. Amazon currently sells every Kindle 3 it can manufacture at a higher price point as a pure eReader. That doesn't mean, however, that the definition of a "tablet" is determined by the feature set of the iPad, anymore than a Miata must have the same features and form factor as a 911 Porsche to be considered a sports car.

Though there's a tendency to compare the forthcoming "Kindle Tablet" to an iPad, I suspect it's more appropriate to compare it to the Nook Color, an eReader with many tablet features.

Originally Posted by TheBigCheese

Will the Amazon tablet be a 7" "giant phone" tablet or will it really be comparable to the iPad? Will hundreds less mean $200 less ($300-$530)? Will it have 3G data and will you have to buy a 2 year contract? Some rumors say it will not even have a camera in order to make a price point. Depending on all of these, it might not even be a good buy.

Or it might be $99 for a WiFi unit meaning it would sell out.

Well, if it is $200+ less and turns out to be an Android pad of even half decent quality, it begins to look interesting to me. Even better if is coat-pocketable.

Hey, it occurred to me that it might even have free 3G like the current high end Kindle. That would surely be a barn burner!

Originally Posted by info

Hey, it occurred to me that it might even have free 3G like the current high end Kindle. That would surely be a barn burner!

Would be, but very doubtful. The reason the Kindle can come with "free" 3G is simply because the demand on the network is both tiny and intermittent. i.e. Only when one downloads a book. A device that enables continuous demand on the 3G network is not something that any carrier is going to allow without a LARGE subsidy from Amazon.