TechCrunch's MG Siegler says he has played with this Kindle Pill. The details go like this:
- 7-inch touch screen;
- $250;
- 6GB built-in storage space;
- Runs a version of "prior" to Android 2. 2, but is really customized you won't care;
- The UI is a Kindle interface similar in order to its iPad and iOS apps;
- And Amazon's app marketplace is the actual lead market.
Add it up and this Kindle Tablet is going to become extremely disruptive. As noted before the HP TouchPad $99 or bust test, pricing will be king. Amazon can subsidize this tablet because it can make money elsewhere on e-books, music and Prime subscriptions.
A few thoughts depending on Siegler's report:
A few thoughts depending on Siegler's report:
- Price: $250 is a solid price that will gather interest. The rub: I thought $250 was a magic price until I realized you will get a TouchPad for $99. Now I'm sure Amazon will have its act together a lot more than HP, but consumers may get greedy.
- Android tablet forks ahead: If Amazon may take an old, stable version of Android and make it sing, what will that say about Android 3. 0?
- No work with Google whatsoever. A subset of that Android fork question is whether Amazon's tablet can make the search giant cringe at all. After all, it's not like Google may be able to piece together the music, video and e-commerce parts yet.
- And may this Kindle Tablet compete with Apple's iPad? If Amazon's tablet lives as much as what Siegler is saying it's likely to squash rivals to Apple. Amazon isn't likely to dent the iPad, but the race to the bottom will be vicious for all your other tablets in the market. You just know after millions of these types of tablets get rolling, Amazon will move the price down to $199 approximately. That price will seriously hurt RIM, Motorola, HTC, Samsung, and other competitors.
Bottom line: Amazon's Kindle Tablet may be among the worst kept secrets and techniques ever.
