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Jeff Bezos Unveils the Kindle Fire

Jeff Bezos unveiled the Kindle Fire this morning. It is a 7-inch Android tablet, and it only costs $199. It is optimized for media consumption (video, music, books, etc.), but it does not have much capability by way of media creation (no camera, no microphone, etc.). It only has 8 GB of memory because the creators are assuming that most content will be accessed from the Amazon cloud.

This device is not designed to compete with the iPad. But it will give the Nook a run for its money. For the full story and more pictures, click here.

7 Comments

  • John

    Perhaps it’s “not designed to compete with the ipad,” but make no mistake about it, this thing will take out a huge chunk out of the ipad’s sales. With the humongous Android app store and a bare bones tablet which does everything 95% of people want a tablet to do (browse internet, read books, watch movies), and prices at only $199, this is absolutely amazing. Apply fanboys, get ready to be moved down a notch.

    • Brent Hobbs

      John, If you think an overgrown cell phone with a 7-inch screen is going to put any real dent in the iPad’s continued market dominance, you’ve lost it. Amazon will sell less in a year than the iPad 2 sold in its first month – and even most of those will be to people who wouldn’t have bought an iPad in the first place, either because of price or because of an irrational hatred of Apple products (see your own comment above).

      Be honest, you were bullish on the playbook, touchpad, and galaxy tab too, weren’t you?

      • John

        Wow Brent. You know so much about me, don’t you? If you did then you would know I have an imac desktop computer & an ipod touch, so your “irrational hatred” remark is just a wee bit off base, as I love Apple products but am not married to them (I’m typing this on my awesome Windows 7 dell computer). Apple fanboyism does annoy me (see your own comment above), but I certainly don’t hate Apple. I’ve never been crazy about the ipad because it seems unnecessary when you have a smartphone & laptop in most cases, so the only real benefit I’ve seen is for ebooks, simple internet browsing on the go, & media like movies on a road trip & perhaps the occasional app for games & such. I’m not alone in this, as analysts have described this being the overwhelming reason people purchase tablets. People don’t purchase tablets to create media but to use it. Most don’t purchase them to use the webcam or camera. The Amazon tablet does what 95% of people want a tablet to do, and people buying a tablet for the e-reader will now go to Amazon, plain & simple. Also, when I see a $199 tablet side-by-side with a $499 tablet, common sense tells me to go with the $199 even though the screen is 3 inches smaller & a few specs aren’t quite as good. People are looking for ways to save money, and if the surge in HP touchpad sales tells us anything after it flopped, it’s that people will purchase tablets in droves if they’re at the right price.$199 is the right price plain & simple. There may be a bump or two in the road since it’s a 1st generation so it may take a year or so for them to gain on the ipad’s market share, but gaining on the market share is not a possibility, it’s an inevitability.

        Regarding the “playbook, touchpad, & galaxy tab,” no I wasn’t “bullish” at all. I didn’t purchase any of them & knew they would flop because they’re not iconic & category-creaters like the ipad was. The Kindle Fire is. Deal with it and we’ll see who’s wrong after Christmas when these things are selling like hotcakes & they come out with a 10 inch version that drives the ipad’s sales down even further. I have nothing against the ipad. I like them & have used it before so I’m not rooting against it. I am just not jumping on the Apple dominance & fanboy train like you are. It’s called competition & the free-market. It’s how our society works. Apple has enjoyed it’s dominance for a while now, & now it needs to make room for a major competitor that’s going to take a huge chunk out of the sales. If you don’t see it coming, then I hate to tell you Brent, but you’ve lost it. Cheers mate

  • Don Johnson

    Speaking for myself, there is no way I would spend 500 for an IPad when I already have a laptop and a smartphone, but I am seriously considering spending 200 for a Kindle Fire.

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