On September 28, 2011, Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, introduced the world to Amazon’s new family of Kindle e-readers. At this (very Apple like) press event, Bezos revealed the Kindle Fire, a tablet that will light up the Android tablet market like no other tablet has before. The Kindle Fire is no iPad, but it will certainly do. This newest Kindle tablet is part of Amazon’s ecosystem and is capable of offering a seamless multimedia experience that can only be rivaled by Apple’s iPad. The rest of the Android tablet market will be now be competing for third and fourth place in the tablet wars.
The Operating System
The Kindle Fire is a 7 inch tablet that runs on a forked version of Google’s Android operating system. This basically means that Amazon has copied a version of the Android OS and customized it to run the way they want it to. This forked version of Android takes the best parts of Android and combines with some of the best features of Amazon.com.
Amazon Appstore – Amazon’s Android app store with thousands of apps and games Amazon Silk – Amazon’s custom cloud accelerated browser, runs Adobe Flash Amazon Cloud Drive – free cloud storage Amazon Prime – free streaming of thousands of titles with a Prime membership (one month free with the Fire)
The Ecosystem
It’s Amazon – Amazon has everything from A to Z. Users can easily link to their existing Amazon accounts and take advantage of the many other Amazon services.
Kindle – online e-books and magazines Audible – online Audio book service Cloud Player – Amazon’s online music store Amazon.com – shop for everything else on Amazon’s main site, or use one of their many shopping apps like Windowshop
Amazon is the only company that can rival the ecosystem of Apple. The other Android tablets struggle because their ecosystem does not support a streamlined user experience. Consumers prefer one stop shopping, and Amazon is the only tablet company that can offer it all in one place. Even Apple cannot sell a music download and a pair of shoes in the same transaction.
Is it for you?
The Kindle Fire has mass appeal. This is the perfect entry level tablet for anyone who would never pay iPad prices, yet wants a quality tablet that looks good and works well. At $200 Amazon is going to have many people taking a second look at the Kindle Fire. Android tablets have failed to compete with Apple’s pricing and value until now. Amazon’s tablet will also appeal to those who own an iPad and are tired of sharing their $700 device with their children. The Kindle Fire is small, yet sophisticated looking (much like the Blackberry PlayBook). The full color touchscreen display and dual processor offer consumers the basic features that tablet shoppers are looking for.
See Amazon’s Kindle Fire Here
The Kindle Fire will not replace the iPad, but it will quickly rise to claim the number one position in the Android market. If Amazon can deliver the Kindle Fire with a seamless shopping experience on a reasonably priced device, the Fire has the potential to surpass the iPad’s tablet marketshare because of the sheer affordability and value of the device. There is no doubt that the Kindle Fire will be the Android tablet seen on most holiday wish lists.