Every month or so another tablet PC jumps into the market with the sole purpose of replacing Apple’s iPad as the unit of choice. While many challengers have come, the iPad remains the market share leader when it comes to tablets pulling in 68.3 percent of world wide shipments in the second quarter of 2011, which is actually higher than the 65 percent in the first quarter of the year. It would seem that high tech heavy counterparts have little impact on the appeal of the iPad.
While many companies have delivered bigger and more powerful devices with a host of features the iPad does not have (USB ports and Flash support to name a few), Amazon is taking a step back to compete with the iPad. While the Kindle Fire will not be released until mid-November, it should compete fairly well with the Apple device due to the $199 price tag.
The Kindle Fire is a bit more tablet than the Nook Color and a bit less than the iPad. The Kindle Fire will provide an interesting take on email, web surfing, and streaming video. While it is still a Kindle, which means the vast library of Amazon books are available for purchase, but thanks to the video capabilities, the world or Amazon on Demand are open for business as well.
If users want a nice tablet to watch television and movies, and occasionally read an ebook or listen to music, the Kindle Fire probably gets a good hard look. It is already priced lower than the $249 Nook Color, and both run a customized version of Android. The genius of the Kindle Fire is that it competes with the iPad without actually competing with the iPad. If anything, the Kindle Fire will force Barnes & Noble’s hand in producing a better version of the Nook Color.
Amazon has given folks the option of saving a few hundred dollars if they just want a tablet for media, Internet, and reading. The iPad will still dominate, that much is virtually assured, but the Kindle Fire will be a nice money saving alternative.
In addition, the Fire will supplement the services Amazon already has. Books, music, movies, and television are all available. Plus with Whispersync those movies and television shows could be viewed on the big screen television. Amazon has found a void and filled it with a pretty nice product. However, the jury will be out until the devices find their ways into the hands of consumers.