Engadget reports on Amazon’s big launch today in New York of its Kindle Fire tablet. As was widely reported yesterday, the 7-inch tablet will run its own version of Android. And the price will be even lower than many predicted, coming in at $199. For this price, it has no camera or microphone, and no 3G either, being Wi-Fi only. It also comes with a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime. According to Engadget, the Fire will have access to the Android Appstore, but not to Google’s Android Market, and all your Kindle books, magazines and so on can be stored free of charge in Amazon’s Cloud Storage. Engadget says that pre-orders start from today, but only in the US, and the tablet is expected to ship on November 15.

So there we have it! Will the Kindle Fire be an iPad killer, or even an iPad maimer, or is it may too small to really challenge the iPad?

Source: Amazon Kindle Fire tablet unveiled: Android-based, 7-inch display, $199 price tag -- Engadget

Blooming heck.....that's cheap!!

No cameras... No mic... Wifi onlu... Cheap plasticu build quality hmm.... Ill stick with me. Ipad

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Yeah, just read up on it, they're giving away the hardware to suck you into buying the apps.

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Originally Posted by blucente

Yeah, just read up on it, they're giving away the hardware to suck you into buying the apps.

Not the apps, but Amazon's own content - video, books, music, etc. This has tremendous appeal for me because I already owned a lot of Amazon content, even before the iPad was released and due to Amazon's dependence on Flash I haven't been able to access the content. My concerns are few: the 8GB of storage space and the 7" display. The 10" display on the iPad is perfect - in fact, it's the same size as the netbook it replaced, so I lost nothing there with the switch. Three inches of screen real estate is a lot.

The rest of the supposed cons mentioned - no 3G, no camera or mic for video conferencing - are no biggie. Apple says an overwhelming majority buy wifi-only iPads and they sold millions of the iPad 1 without cameras. Not having those features won't limit the market much and that has to be a large part of why it's so cheap.

I think it looks pretty cool and the colors are awesome! Not too sure about the rectangle look, though.

I think it's going to sell like hotcakes. Several reasons.

() The announcement wasn't about just the "Fire." Amazon has effectively done to the e-Reader market what Apple did to the tablet market (as Apple defined that concept.) They now have a $79 Kindle, a $99-$149 Kindle "Touch" with enhanced e-Reader functionality, and a device (super e-MediaReader or "tablet," take your pick) that at $200 effectively destroys the B&N Nook and expands the e-Reader concept of "media" from books alone to music, movies, and the web. And it does so in a form factor that can be held for hours in one hand.

Looking at the Fire as an iPad competitor with fewer features at a low price is to misunderstand what Amazon is selling. They're growing "up" from an e-Reader to a more comprehensive media consumption device. In doing so, they'll do to the tablet market what Apple did to the netbook/notebook market; extend and expand it to people who don't need/want all of the features of an iPad but just want to consume a wider range of media than a traditional e-Reader allows. And for those who just want to read books? Amazon has clobbered that market and protected their flank.

() In addition, a less noted aspect of today's announcement was Amazon "Silk" a technology that claims to deliver a much smoother and quicker web experience. If they deliver on that promise they'll trump Apple in an area where the iPad (and every other manufacturer) has yet to deliver a satisfactory solution. Consider for a moment that the iPad (and iPhone and iPod Touch) is beloved in large part because its performance is so predictable. Not necessarily faster than the competition but almost completely without "lags" and "choppiness" in opening and using apps. Now think about the one place where that is not true. Yup. The d**n web. Sometimes quick, sometimes slow, sometimes hangs, seldom predictable. (Safari is "under-featured" in large part to minimize that but it still exists.)

What Amazon hopes to provide is a consistent, predictable and fast web experience including streaming. If they can pull that off, they'll have a device that users can experience with minimal awareness of whether they're pulling content and code off their device or out of the air. Not enough storage space on the device? Amazon will tell you that you don't need it; the well-designed Amazon cloud will eliminate the need to worry about it. No 3G? True, but no need to worry about congestion on cell phone towers, either. And if you insist on accessing the web where wifi isn't available, get yourself a hotspot, even a 4G hotspot that's far superior to 3G anyhow.

() Like Apple, Amazon will use the device to pull customers to their branded "stores." And they're likely to make a mint off digital content. But unlike Apple, they can sell lawn furniture to their customers as well as songs and videos. And with Amazon "Prime," they'll not only include as much digital content as you want, they'll ship your lawn furniture for free. In short, like Apple, Amazon can afford to sell the "Fire" at cost and make millions from content. But Amazon's play is much, much wider. iTunes can sell you a song, a video, or even a book. Amazon can sell you all that and an outfit to wear while you listen, watch, or read.

() All in all, this changes what the concept of a tablet is. As long as the iPad defined what a tablet is, no one else could match it. But there are likely to be millions of consumers who begin to see a "tablet" as a sub-$200 media consumption device, large enough to view easily and small enough to hold in one hand. Those folks will ask themselves whether it's worth another $300-$500 to have the features an iPad provides. Just as many iPad purchasers have asked themselves whether they really need the additional computing power of a laptop for more money, more weight, and a shorter battery life than an iPad.

Nicely said, Jsh9020,,

Nice overview, I think you're right on target. If it performs as they're hoping and at this price point this thing is going to sell!

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Nicely play for Amazon, because serve their purpose that is to sell pretty much everything that us the consumer need and no need lol. Not mention people that actually spend a lot time reading seems like the best less expensive option. The only bad point is no cam/mic, well is 2011 that should be standard already on every tablet, and also looks like the Playbook from Blackberry. But still a A- for Amazon and thats a lot better than the average competitor in the tablet market.

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