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The upcoming Android-powered tablet from Amazon will sell for ‘hundreds less’ than the Apple iPad, said a source quoted by the New York Post.
Noting that the fire sale of HP’s discontinued TouchPad triggered a stampede of customer interest for the $99 tablet, Garett Sloane of the NY Post said "the market is hungry for tablets outside of the Apple’s iPad – if the price is right."
Rumours have long surrounded Amazon’s entry into the tablet market, following in the footsteps of the firm’s successful Kindle e-reader and the Android tablets would be a natural extension of the firm’s already-launched Amazon App Store.
Far Eastern suppliers have already provided tantalising hints of parts orders in the millions, potentially delivering economies of scale so far denied Android tablet makers and hinting at an aggressive price to take on the all-conquering iPad head on.
Amazon may also sell the device at a loss, as it does the Kindle e-reader, recouping costs through selling applications, books and services.
The Amazon tablets seem unlikely to hit the $99 barrier, however, with the Wi-Fi only Kindle already retailing at $139.
Still, a $200 full-featured Android tablet with Amazon’s marketing muscle behind it may well give Apple the competition it has so far not had to endure.
