Ten Devices Set to rival the iPad 2

[singlestick]

Though Apple needs to pay attention, they are shipping 200,000 units a day. A Day. It's a pretty solid market position with huge momentum.

If Amazon sells 1m new tablets in the quarter I would consider that a huge success.
That's 5 days production on the iPad...

RIM only sold 500,000 Playbooks in a year, and HP had to dump their tablet at a huge loss after only selling 20,000....

Amazon will have a hard time making hay here unless they really decide to lose money to try to get market share. Another $500 entry level book-reader tablet is not going to appeal to any large market segment - newly defined or otherwise.

-t

RIM and HP were selling tablet devices. Amazon may (we are still speculating here) be selling a portable purchase platform. Big difference. Even if Amazon sells their tablet at $250, they would not be deciding to lose money to get market share. People buy stuff from Amazon. Lots of stuff. A tablet would be another purchase point.

By the way, this is a different model from Apple's model of the iPad as a device that lets you do cool stuff.

And again, there are a lot of people who don't have tablets, and people who do not have smart phones or the latest computers. And there are people who may just want a super ebook reader with extra features. There is not a small or monolithic market. Lots of room for everybody. So again, while Apple may not have to worry, they, and everybody else, needs to pay attention to successes and failures. If Amazon comes out with a good product, things could get very interesting for all the other players.

As an aside, momentum doesn't mean much, either for software or hardware. Not too long ago, everyone was on MySpace in between using their Blackberries. Today, not so much.

 

[thewitt]

Momentum doesn't mean much? You are kidding right? The iPad and the iPhone are selling in the volumes they are BECAUSE of momentum.

They are not the most technically advanced platforms out there. They have shortcomings that many think are significant, however they are dominating their markets.

It's all because of momentum.

The same thing that kept Windows running as the choice for business is making the iPad the choice for the consumer.

It's all about momentum - and keeping it up.

The argument that Amazon will make money off other product sales because people will buy another piece of hardware - a tablet computer - just to order Amazon products is specious as best.

-t

 

[Kaykaykay]

The argument that Amazon will make money off other product sales because people will buy another piece of hardware - a tablet computer - just to order Amazon products is specious as best.

-t

Who besides you is making the argument that people will buy an Amazon tablet JUST to buy Amazon products?

People would expect any tablet to surf the Net, handle email, run apps, play movies, etc., no matter who makes them.

 

[thewitt]

Um, read the thread...

-t

 

[Kaykaykay]

Um, read the thread...

-t

No one is saying that all an Amazon tablet will do is sell Amazon stuff. They're saying that Amazon will use any tablet to push its products, in addition to serving as a tablet. If that needs spelling out, consider it spelled out.

 

[singlestick]

Momentum doesn't mean much? You are kidding right? The iPad and the iPhone are selling in the volumes they are BECAUSE of momentum.

They are not the most technically advanced platforms out there. They have shortcomings that many think are significant, however they are dominating their markets.

It's all because of momentum.

The same thing that kept Windows running as the choice for business is making the iPad the choice for the consumer.

It's all about momentum - and keeping it up.

The argument that Amazon will make money off other product sales because people will buy another piece of hardware - a tablet computer - just to order Amazon products is specious as best.

-t

Please note that I have repeatedly cautioned that everything said here is speculation. Amazon has not released their new tablet yet. No one has purchased one. And very few people have even claimed to have seen one.

That said, I am not simply making an argument about momentum. The examples of MySpace, Blackberry, even Nokia, are clear cases of initial dominance not meaning anything. Consumers can be very fickle. And other forces are important. This week, the last Borders stores are shutting down. They could do nothing to stem the shift to online purchase of books, ebooks, and other items, or do much to halt the decline in importance of physical newspapers and magazines.

Also, technically advanced does not always mean much. Often, technology only has to be good enough to get the job done. This is confirmed by any number of industrial studies over the past 50 or more years.

Lastly, the Wall Street Journal and other sources suggest that Amazon will be very aggressive in marketing their new tablet. If they come in at $250, and include Amazon Prime (free shipping on purchases, free access to streaming video rentals, etc), they will be offering a level of service that HP or RIM could never match. This is not the same thing as the meaningless idea of an iPad killer, but it would be a very effective marketing strategy.

And it would be far more than simply offering another tablet.

 

[Kaykaykay]

With Netflix's recent bonehead moves, it's just cracked the door a bit wider to Amazon and its streaming video. Amazon's streaming is much more limited right now, but it'll be interesting to see how quickly it can beef up offerings. I'd rather Netflix wise up, though.

Momentum is sweet, but not guaranteed to last. Or as investment types say, past performance is no guarantee of future results.

 

[col.bris]

Beware and with respect Netflix is USA only not the rest of the world and yes Australia, Europe and Asia and all the others do count in sales. It will be interesting to see what. Amazon comes up with.

 

[SweetPoison]

Beware and with respect Netflix is USA only not the rest of the world .

Oh. I did not know this! As soon as I get my ATV, I will be getting Netflix.

You can live through me, babe.

 

[Kaykaykay]

Beware and with respect Netflix is USA only not the rest of the world and yes Australia, Europe and Asia and all the others do count in sales. It will be interesting to see what. Amazon comes up with.

Yup, the U.S. is a big market, but there's plenty of business to be done outside it, too. Much of my family is involved in manufacturing and trade from China to Australia, Europe and Latin America.

I really like Netflix streaming, but it's annoying to go without it while outside the U.S. or have to work around it. But legal content use varies from country to country, so I'm guessing that some sort of global streaming membership is awhile off.

I've already been waiting impatiently for BBC iPlayer for distribution outside the U.K., and I've see iTV advertise apps for Android and iOS, but cannot buy them through the U.S. store. I'm lazy, or I'd work around that.