Amazon Tablet Tracker from Xconomy
Amazon.com is widely acknowledged to be concocting a new device: its own, multipurpose tablet computer that could both compete with Apple's iPad and extend Amazon's success with its Kindle device and store. Here's a guide, with newest posts listed first, of significant news about the apparently forthcoming Amazon tablet.
- Sept. 26, 2011: MG Siegler at TechCrunch chimes in with a mini-update: Sources say the brand-name of the Amazon device will be the "Kindle Fire."
On Wednesday, Amazon Will Unveil The “Kindle Fire”Last Friday, Amazon sent out invites to a press conference being held this coming Wednesday. They didn’t give away any details in the invite, but given our scoop earlier this month , everyone assumed it was to unveil the new Kindle tablet. We can now confirm this is correct.- Sept. 26, 2011: Peter Kafka at AllThingsD reports that most of the big national magazine publishers will offer digital subscriptions through the new Amazon tablet, apart from Time.
Most – But Not All – Big Magazine Publishers Sign On For Amazon’s TabletSeptember 26, 2011 at 12:19 pm PT In 2010, magazine publishers got giddy about the prospects of selling their stuff on the iPad. This year's version of the story: Lots of enthusiasm, tempered with a little bit of skepticism, over Amazon's new tablet.- Sept. 26, 2011: Ryan Block at gdgt reports that Amazon's new tablet shares DNA with the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, mostly because it was developed by the same outside manufacturer.Block's sources say this was done to get a device out for the 2011 holiday season, with Amazon's in-house team that built the original Kindles staying dedicated to next-generation e-ink devices.
The Amazon tablet will look like a PlayBook -- because it basically is.That's disappointing. You'd think that given how long the Nook Color has been out that they would have been much more aggressive developing their competitive product. I really thought they were going to give Apple a true competitor with this device, given that they have done such a good job building the surrounding ecosystem.Sept. 26, 2011 - Amazon sends out a press release announcing that it has a new deal with Fox to offer new TV titles through its video-streaming attached to the Amazon Prime premium membership.
This comes on the heels of a Netflix partnership with DreamWorks, and adds to the large amount of content that would be available over an Amazon-branded tablet.
- Dear Customer, I have big news for Amazon Prime members - we've just signed a deal with FOX to add a broad selection of movies and TV shows to our unlimited instant streaming service later this fall. The new additions from the FOX library include 24, Arrested Development, The X-Files, Ally McBeal, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and - available on digital video for the first time - The Wonder Years. We now have deals with CBS, NBCUniversal, Sony, and Warner Bros, and adding FOX will bring the total t
Amazon press conference set for September 28th, could this be its long-awaited tablet?Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.- Sept. 23, 2011: Amazon starts inviting press to an event in New York on Sept. 28. No details are given, but it's widely assumed to be an unveiling of the new tablet (and there were conspicuously no attempts by Amazon to deny or squash that rumor, which it would probably have to do to protect the stock price from wild swings).
Sept. 2, 2011: TechCrunch writer MG Siegler writes about a hands-on demo he got with one of the test units. He reports the tablet line will start with a 7-inch version for $250, with a regular backlit screen, and a possible 10-inch version to follow, among other details.
Amazon’s Kindle Tablet Is Very Real. I’ve Seen It, Played With It. | TechCrunchIt’s called simply the “Amazon Kindle”. But it’s not like any Kindle you’ve seen before. It displays content in full color. It has a 7-inch capacitive touch screen. And it runs Android. Rumors of Amazon making a full-fledged tablet device have persisted for a while.- (Siegler apparently ventured up to Seattle to report that piece, based on several tweets around that time.)
Aug. 30, 2011: The Next Web detailes some design changes apparently being tested in limited fashion that would make the site more optimized for a tablet. This adds to the drumbeat, but of course a tablet design could be something Amazon would do even if it weren't producing its own tablet.
Amazon is testing a slick new site design, built with tablets in mindIt appears that online retail giant Amazon will launch a new, vastly improved version of its massively popular shopping website in the near future, overhauling its design that not only looks great on the desktop but has been designed to appeal to tablet owners, signalling that the company could soon announce the launch of its own tablet devices.Aug. 29, 2011: Sarah Rottman Epps of Forrester Research publishes a new report projecting that Amazon could sell up to 5 million tablets in the fourth quarter if it gets into the game as expected. (The full report is premium content, but she also blogged about it here).
- Amazon’s willingness to sell hardware at a loss combined with the strength of its brand, content, cloud infrastructure, and commerce assets makes it the only credible iPad competitor in the market. If Amazon launches a tablet at a sub-$300 price point — assuming it has enough supply to meet demand — we see Amazon selling 3-5 million tablets in Q4 alone.
July 13, 2011: Responding to the latest bits of information reported that day by The Wall Street Journal, MG Siegler of TechCrunch asserts that Google should be just as frightened as Apple about Amazon's tablet aspirations, because Amazon will use Google's Android operating system to further its own brand, not Google's:
"Google has handed Amazon the keys to the Android kingdom. Amazon is going to launch a tablet that runs Android, but it will be fully Amazon"d ... Google will have no control over this, even though it will be the seminal Android tablet."
TechCrunch | Amazon’s Tablet Is No Threat To Apple, It’s A Huge Threat To GoogleLast September, we got a tip from a source that Amazon was preparing a tablet that would run Google's Android operating system. The source was a good one — they had also correctly called Amazon releasing their own Android app store. It took a while, but it looks like they nailed this news as well.July 13, 2011: The Wall Street Journal adds details, citing anonymous sources to report that Amazon will introduce a new tablet "by October" with a roughly 9-inch screen and running Google's Android.
It also won't have a camera and will be designed by another company, with Amazon designing its own model for possible release in 2012.
Amazon Plans iPad RivalAmazon.com Inc. has battled Apple Inc. over digital books, digital music and mobile applications. Now the two companies are taking their clash to another front: the tablet market. Amazon plans to release a tablet computer by October, people familiar with the matter said, intensifying its rivalry with Apple's iPad.June 10, 2011: Boston research company Detweiler Fenton publishes a short note saying that Amazon may offer streaming video on a new color device.
- We hear that Amazon (AMZN) is prepping a new color Kindle (code named "Hollywood") capable of streaming video and to be sold with a promotional video service offering. The device is expected to incorporate a 10" color screen and have a more robust applications processor than that expected for the smaller color Kindles AMZN is also expected to launch for the holiday season. It is particularly interesting to note that AMZN is expected to include its movie service for free for an unspecified amount
May 13, 2011: Blogger Taylor Wimberly at Android and Me cites an anonymous, inside source saying that Amazon will have an "entire family" of Android devices.
