Amazon’s rumored tablet is very real, according to MG Siegler of TechCrunch. The ‘Amazon Kindle’ tablet runs a fully-customized version of the Android OS that “you’ve never seen before.” The device will sell for half the price of the entry-level iPad, and it’s expected to ship in November.
MG Siegler was able to get his hands on a Design Verification Testing unit of the Amazon Kindle tablet, and he compares it to the BlackBerry PlayBook’s form factor.
The device will have a 7-inch capacitive touch screen (two-finger multitouch) with full color. There are also no physical buttons on the device.
Amazon’s tablet runs a special flavor of Android:
“The interface is all Amazon and Kindle. It’s black, dark blue, and a bunch of orange. The main screen is a carousel that looks like Cover Flow in iTunes which displays all the content you have on the device. This includes books, apps, movies, etc. Below the main carousel is a dock to pin your favorite items in one easy-to-access place. When you turn the device horizontally, the dock disappears below the fold.
Above the dock is the status bar (time, battery, etc) and this doubles as a notification tray. When apps have updates, or when new subscriptions are ready for you to view, they appear here. The top bar shows “YOUR NAME’s Kindle” and then the number of notifications you have in bright orange. It looks quite nice.”
The most interesting thing about Amazon’s Kindle tablet is the price point. At $250, Amazon has undercut Apple’s entry-level iPad by a 50% margin. Ouch.
Does the iPad finally have a worthy competitor?
Alex Heath is a journalist who works for Tech Insider. He’s the former co-host of The CultCast. He has been quoted by the likes of the BBC, KRON 4 News, and books like “ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation.” He lives in Lexington, Kentucky. If you want to pitch a story, share a tip, or just get in touch, additional contact information is available on his personal site. Follow him on Twitter.
38 responses to “Amazon Prepping 7-Inch Android Tablet with $250 Price Tag”
As a student with low budget, and as a kindle owner… I’m waiting this tablet.
7 inches is too small to be a tablet. Seems to me this is more competition for the color Nook.
7 inches is a great size for a tablet, but I’m disappointed this is a total fork of Android and lacks Google apps integration. The price is not bad though. Still waiting to see the price on the new Galaxy Tab 7.7. (high resolution super amoled!)
Will it have email?
for me to buy this it would have to do the basics…i.e email, good quality movie playback, web surfing, and book and comic book reading
As someone with a low budget, and as an HP Touchpad owner, I’m waiting for the 5th generation iPod Touch.
Half the size, half the price… What else is half?
Seems more like a replacement to the existing Kindle. Yeah, Kindle owners will purchase them over an iPad but those looking for a tablet will be in the Computer section of the store, not the book and household appliance sections. Might pick one up myself though. Been thinking about getting both a Kindle and a Nook for the family.
geeze, what comment bait this post is.
how exactly does a striped-down 7″ internet tablet – what it basically is – that might/might not run Android phone apps provide a “worthy competitor” for the 10″ iPad and all it can do?
and can Amazon produce a polished UI first try?
and how big is the market for any 7″ tweener tab?
and is a widescreen format a basic market error for any tablet?
or is this just another Great White Tablet Hope/Hype?
“Does the iPad finally have a worthy competitor?”
lololololololololol
Gizmodo isn’t even worth borrowing graphics from. Kudos to MG Siegler for breaking the story.
iPad competitor??? Definitely not… HP Touchpad competitor…. Definitely yes… lol maybe not even since the HP Touchpad (at $99) is getting Android soon… too bad theirs only one more batch coming out :(
no e-ink, it is just another tablet, not really that good for reading ebooks. it will appeal being $250 but will lack content to use on it. iPad is head and shoulders above the rest with content, this is the problem I have with Android,the Android Market lacks decent tablet apps.
7inch sounds lame BUT I do believe that this will be the first serious competitor to the iPad. It will take sales from Apple but more importantly it will kill all the other Android competitors overnight. If you had a choice between any Android tablet and an AmPad that ties into amazon’s online store and for $250 less which one is the average Joe going to plumb for? I think this will change the game in lots of ways and it will change it even quicker if they bring out a 10 incher along side it. So, when will the firesale start from all the other android tab makers desperate to flush their unsold inventory into the maket – if it happens then this will be the proof that it is seen as a real threat/success product.
Good luck to Amazon. I hope they do well. This will be good for people who use Amazon as main content provider or even if you just want a more versatile kindle. At 250 I would be skeptical of quality but I guess we will see that.
The other point here is that some posts are still after “blood” in the tablet market. Why do any of the devices have to go in order for another to be successful or good. I use Apple products and I don’t mind others using what they like. Very childish. How many stores sell t-shirts? Choice is good for all of us!
I don’t think so, if anything I will be purchasing a kindle with e-ink shortly, I like that I can read outside. This seems to be a step back to shorter batter life and no outside reading, the 2 key things that differentiated the Kindle.
Nook Color Android-based tablet/eReader from Barnes & Noble has been on the market for over a year and sold millions of units at $250. Gives Flash, apps, videos, color magazines and ebooks with video inserts, and the best anti-glare coated screen on the market. Technology “giant” Amazon is finally catching up with the book store company by copying their device.
I doubt if a seven inch tablet will be much of a competitor for the ten inch iPad with over twice the viewing space. There will always be some people who will buy it. After all, HP sold some tablets, even at an iPad level price. I would guess that Amazon’s could get about 5% of the tablet market at 250 bucks and 10% at 200.
On the other hand, Apple could drop the iPad price significantly or add major enhancements, of which it is capable, and kill it’s competitors.
I’m undecided about this one, technically. 7″ tablets have too small a display in my opinion. On the other hand for eBooks, etc, in portrait, they’re more than adequate.
As for sales, Amazon will be able to push this massively, and that’s what has been holding back non-iPad tablets.
I’m not too impressed with Amazon basically developing their own fork of Android so that they have their own walled garden and custom interface. But if they have a vision then that’s probably the way to achieve it rather than manipulating the standard Android front-end.
Amazon can’t be underestimated, they have a worldwide supply and delivery system that means they can do things in volume and at lower prices and still make money. They are the closest to Apple in their command of speaking directly to consumers and the “impulse buy”.
A big Apple fan here, I myself have gradually begun using Amazon for much of my online shopping, and it has been a pleasant experience all-in-all. Students get a year of Amazon Prime for free, which means free 2-day shipping on a huge percentage of all they sell. Once that expires for me I’ll reevaluate, but I grudgingly give them kudos for nailing the retail channel to the web customer. Their shopping cart / wish list system is really well done.
As for content, their book selection (that was all they once carried was books!) is tremendous, and their movies and music are growing.
I’m sure Apple is very aware and concerned about this development. For hardware, though, I’m sticking with Apple. I like how all the i devices work together. One charge cord charges them all, they are compatible and work together as a team.