Amazon Gets Into The Fight

[maxximilian]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/briancau...be-dirt-cheap/

Someone finally did it. On its way out, HP’s TouchPad proved that it’s possible to create a buying frenzy for a tablet computer that’s not from Apple. Of course, HP had to kill the product and slash the price to $99 from $499 to do it.

It looks like Amazon could go the same route: the cheap one. The New York Post reported Friday that Amazon’s upcoming tablet computer will sell for “hundreds” of dollars less than Apple’s $499 iPad.

This is what consumers need.....a price war.

[Crimson Blonde]

and for Apple prices to come down

[SuperSparks]

I completely agree, netbooks were a bit of a solution looking for a problem when they came out, but took off because the price was right. I've been a bit surprised that all the various tablet makers haven't spotted that netbooks and tablets are similar products in many ways, and thus adopted the same strategy.

[maxximilian]

I am still trying for one of those $99 Touchpads....but even if I get one, it won't be my go-to mobile device. If I am headed to a wifi hotspot...I will be taking the netbook which is comparable and was only half the price of a tablet. I still kinda look at tablets as toys.

Apple and the extreme loyalists (fanboys) are driving the prices on tablets. And Apple has never been known to be cost-effective. Until someone like Amazon or perhaps Google puts a dent in Apple sales, we won't see any real price drops. I am curious about this Amazon offering. They have the resources to take losses early on and create a user base. If I was Amazon, I would slap a bargain price on the things and then discontinue the Kindle in favor of the new tablet. Kindle users won't like it....but from a business standpoint, it's a better long term strategy to get all those Kindle users buying new tablets instead of new Kindles.

[SuperSparks]

Well I for one won't be giving up my Kindle. E-ink displays will always be a lot nicer to read than an LCD screen.

[maxximilian]

Yes...I know quite a few Kindle people that swear by the devices and don't want anything else. I just can't see Amazon keeping both for very long since the tablet is rumored to be reader capable.

[maxximilian]

Amazon could sell as many as 5 million tablets.....and at a price as low as $249. Or so the article says....

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-...-Units-219018/

[maxximilian]

RIM slashing Playbook prices:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...7801UI20110901

Certainly not a firesale like HP....but the price war is on and awaits what price Amazon is going with. Will Apple hold it's price structure and risk losing it's domination of the market?

[SpywareDr]

Has HP done a "New Coke" with WebOS and tablets?
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/datacenter...d-tablets/1004

[maxximilian]

Interesting analogy....but Coke got just plain lucky. It's risky to try to reproduce what someone else did via luck. Then again....I drink Pepsi, so what do I know.

[maxximilian]

It's here....and it's called Kindle Fire.....and it's $199

With Amazon’s new $79 Kindle, $99 Kindle Touch, $149 Kindle Touch 3G, and $199 Kindle Fire, Amazon dynamites that levee. The devices aren’t free, but they’re so much cheaper than comparable products on the market that they will likely sell millions of copies and many more millions of books, television shows, movies, music and apps.

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/...-consumer-biz/

[maxximilian]

http://www.informationweek.com/news/...lets/231602481

It's not exactly iPad territory, but Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet is off to a solid start in terms of sales, according to one analyst firm.
eDataSource, which tracks consumer purchases, estimates that Amazon received about 95,000 pre-orders for Kindle in the first 24 hours after the product was unveiled Wednesday. That's a good bit lower than the 300,000 iPads that Apple sold in that gadget's first day on the market, but still respectable--particularly given that the Kindle Fire won't actually ship until Nov. 15.

[Sal_gal]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/briancau...be-dirt-cheap/



This is what consumers need.....a price war.

And so it begins: Nook Color down to $149.99

Best. Tablet deal. Ever. Okay, the Nook Color isn't technically a tablet, but it can be if you root it or pop in an inexpensive "Android makeover" card.

Just goes to show that these tablets are only worth about $100-200 anyway. Take that apple!

[Sal_gal]

I completely agree, netbooks were a bit of a solution looking for a problem when they came out, but took off because the price was right. I've been a bit surprised that all the various tablet makers haven't spotted that netbooks and tablets are similar products in many ways, and thus adopted the same strategy.

My Asus EEC, 250 gb HD cost $229. I'm getting a Velocity Tablet for $69. That should keep me stocked for quite a while, although I could get along with just the netbook alone. But there may be times at work when I want to go on the internet and not use the company's....because they spy on us.

[maxximilian]

Latest rumor.....

Amazon may buy Palm from HP......

http://venturebeat.com/2011/09/29/amazon-buy-palm/

Amazon has really come out swinging in this tablet thing....