Is Apple rushing the release of the iPad 3?
Amazon’s Kindle Fire
From a glance the Amazon Kindle Fire may look like just another tablet that is destined to fail against the Apple iPad. That however may not be the case though due to two large factors. The biggest factor is the cost of entry. The cheapest Apple iPad you can purchase is the 16Gb WiFi only model. This device comes with the normal steep Apple premium costing $499. The Amazon Kindle on the other hand is going to be sold for a more reasonable $199. We saw a frenzy for the HP Touchpads once they were discontinued and prices dropped to $100. A much lower cost of entry could entice many to purchase the Kindle Fire that would never even consider the higher price of the iPad.
The other factor is the way that the Kindle Fire has been designed. Although sharing a similar form factor with many of the other Android tablets. The actual OS has been totally customized to fit Amazon’s needs. The Kindle Fire is designed around the Amazon marketplace, which Amazon plans to make their money off of. One of the biggest draws of the iPad is the marketplace, it is an essential portion of the design. The Amazon Kindle Fire will provide the same experience with an Android device.
According to IHS Inc Amazon is actually losing ~$10 per tablet sold. They however are banking on the returns from their multiple marketplaces. If you haven’t visited Amazon lately they are defiantly a factor in the digital age. They currently offer Amazon Cloud which is very similar, and was released prior, to Apple’s iCloud. They also have a marketplace for Apps, music, and movies/tv shows. It is obvious that Amazon has thought out this approach and could spell problems for the iPad.
So is Apple scared? There have been countless rumors about the release of the iPad 3. Many revolved around the rushing of the iPad 3 to market. It appears that isn’t going to be the case currently. Most reports expect the iPad 3 to be released early 2012. This would correspond with previous iPad releases and would not be ahead of schedule. Apple however should pay attention to the success or failure of the Amazon Kindle Fire. This isn’t just another Android tablet with no future. Amazon has made a vested interest in the success of this device.
