Report: Amazon Tablet Really PlayBook in Disguise
Industry insiders claim that Amazon used the BlackBerry PlayBook hardware template as a basis for its first-generation Kindle Fire tablet. The result doesn't sound promising.
On Wednesday, Amazon is expected to revealed its Kindle Fire Android-based tablet that will run a customized version of Google's OS. Previous hands-on reports have stated that it will feature a 7-inch screen and look similar to RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. But now news has surfaced that the Amazon gadget looks like RIM's tablet for a good reason: because it basically is the PlayBook, only without the BlackBerry OS.
According to gdgt, RIM originally outsourced much of the hardware design and production of the PlayBook to Quanta, an ODM that builds and helps design hardware for name brands. When it came time to design and build the post-NOOK Color Android tablet prototype, Amazon's Kindle group (aka Lab 126) opted out of the project to solely work on E-Ink based devices. Determined to produce an Android tablet, Amazon thus turned to Quanta for help.
See where this is going? Apparently to save time on the development process, Quanta offered Amazon the PlayBook hardware as a template. But sources claim that Amazon ran into trouble during the process, and was forced to make sacrifices in the spec list including using a slower SoC. The resulting device is reportedly "pretty poor" and a "stopgap" in order to get a tablet out the door before the 2011 holiday season.
But as pointed out, the original Kindle wasn't all that great compared to the later models. Building on that, Industry sources claim that Amazon pushed this Android tablet out so quickly because it wants to get its foothold in the mainstream tablet market, and that the Kindle Fire won't really heat up the market until the second-generation tablet arrives in a possible Q1 2012 window. Unnamed sources even report that this second-generation Kindle Fire tablet will be Amazon's flagship product, the device Amazon "really believes in."
It's probably safe to assume that any second-generation tablet will depend on the success of the original Kindle Fire product. If it doesn't sell well, then Amazon may either push on and try again with a meatier, more expensive product as sources indicate, or follow HP and jump ship just after a one-tablet release. It should be noted however that HP said it wasn't leaving the tablet business, it just wasn't continuing on with webOS-based tablet production.
Still, a "pretty poor" "stopgap" Android tablet doesn't sound promising for Amazon and the 2011 holiday season. Guess we'll find out tomorrow...
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Ok look, I rip on Apple all the time but this is one fine example why Android tablets are barely making its way in the market. Its cheap-shots like this that gives iPad the advantage it has.
........................
Just when I though the Fire might burn the iPad.
I for one am actually looking forward to this tablet. I work with BlackBerry phones on a regular basis at my job and I must say I hate the blackberry OS. Android and WP7 are far superior to BB. hell even IOS is better that BB. When i first saw the Blackberry tablet, all I could think was how much better it would be with Android. Now it looks like i might get my wish.
It looks like they would be better off by buying HP Touch Pad and get WebOs updated.
Does it pay to be an early adopter anymore? The older I get the more I see it's just better to wait for the 2nd or even 3rd edition of any new hardware/software. Sad if this turns out to be true tomorrow.
OK, look at the market. On the one hand we have a slew of high end, high spec, high priced tablets sitting on shelves because most of us won't pay $600 for a tablet (Apple geeks excepted). On the other hand, we have the low end, low spec, and low priced Nook Color selling like hot cakes. Did anyone really expect Amazon to follow the so called "leaders" down the drain and come forth with a tablet that no one will buy? Amazon is pretty sharp at marketing.
Besides, for what most will use a tablet for (reading, music, video, simple games, simple internet and email) one does not need high end hardware. What one needs is an ecosystem to make media consumption easy and inexpensive, and Amazon will provide that. Time will tell, but this might finally provide an alternative to the iPad that people will actually buy.
Doesn't matter what it is made of. It just nice to be priced at a point most people expect is reasonable for a casual consumption device. Make it $250 and you have an iPad killer on your hands, even if its not as good. Android phones sell by the millions because you can get them on a contract for nothing. If they were all priced like iPhones from the start like they tried with tablets, they would be struggling now. When are they going to figure this out?
No big surprise, no Android device can touch iPad2 in terms of performance. Even Samsung's latest Galaxy Tab has jerky animation (both screen and camera) compared to iPad2, despite the latter's lower hardware spec. It's what you get with a customized in-house OS, same as consoles that perform far better than PCs with equivalent hardware.
This is my feeling as well... This will be a 1st gen product. Depending on it's success, and Amazon's concept, verses what the consumers want, this will not be a hot ticket item until the 2nd or even 3rd incarnation. At the 250 dollar price point, however, this is much more of a palpable risk for many potential users.
Also, make no mistake, a HUGE reason for the success of the Apple iProducts was the pre-existing product ecosystem that was backwards compatible with the previous iProduct's success...
The iPhone built heavily on the music, movies, and applications that first appeared in the iPod series. The iPad bult it's success on existing iPhone/iPod touch apps and the iTunes ecosystem...
Amazon is the only other company I can think of that has a great existing ecosystem with an iTunes like foothold in a market (eBooks).
I think Amazon will have a winner in about 2 years, and will succeed where all other android/WebOS tablets have failed, miserably...
If it is going to be a cheap stopgap product do not bother.
I believe that releasing a half-baked product into the market with hopes that the second generation will be a blockbuster is a wrong strategy. It basically tells the potential customers you don't really trust your own product enough to make it viable. Besides, who will buy a doomed first edition when they already know a better one is coming after it?
Waste of money, if you ask me. Every successful product has had their marketing team telling the world that was the best ever available, and if there is room for improvement...well, they crossed that bridge when they came to it.
And I really hope this will not be some crippled Android device, with only some proprietary apps available for it, but a fully functional tablet, with access to all the Android markets and preferably an untouched vanilla UI. Otherwise, it will be a flop, except for some geeks able to tinker with it at a deep level. I do not understand why manufacturers insist in releasing locked-down products, crippled, forcing you to get through a bunch of hoops just to get the full potential, instead of having it fully unlocked and easily tweaked by the adventurous types out there, while the masses can still enjoy the benefits of a fully functional OS. This just grinds my gears.
A lot of you are missing what Amazon is trying to do. What killed the Playbook was lack of support. In the case of Amazon, they're not out to make money on the Fire, they're out to use it as a portal into Amazon and have people buy various items from Amazon through the Fire.
The Fire has already been shown that it will not have the camera like the Playbook, it won't have as powerful a processor or the same amount of memory. This is made to be a portal, especially when you consider that Amazon pulled their apps off the Apple App store so they don't lose money to Apple when people are buying things from Amazon.
In truth, the Fire is a brilliant idea as a portal for content consumption.
I don't see the PlayBook that negatively, so that's no issue for me. However, the slower hardware is a concern.
Why not get a netbook with a dual core CPU 10.1 inch screen, keyboard, touchpad, 3 USB ports, 320-500GB hard drive space, full OS, 1-2GB RAM, built in webcam, with the ability to install the kindle software if needed, and all for $250 instead of buying a underpowered tablet?
Wanted to add that one of the most popular accessories for tablets are bluetooth keyboards, if you are going to do that why not just get a netbook to begin with.
Well the number one rule in marketing isn't to take shortcuts to get things out on time, it's to make them wait for something they'll enjoy.
No big surprise, no Android device can touch iPad2 in terms of performance. Even Samsung's latest Galaxy Tab has jerky animation (both screen and camera) compared to iPad2, despite the latter's lower hardware spec. It's what you get with a customized in-house OS, same as consoles that perform far better than PCs with equivalent hardware.
People round here dont want to hear that.. Even though Toms own CPU and GPU benchmarks proves that the A5 hardware in the iPad2 is better or on par CPUwise with Tegra2 based devices and that the A5 eats the Tegra2 up in GPU benchmarks, your post will still get marked down into oblivion... Haters gonna hate.
"The iPad bult it's success on existing iPhone/iPod touch apps and the iTunes ecosystem..."
Right, because the iPad is just a 10 inch iPod Touch. Apple already had iOS and just had
to scale up the hardware, i.e. basically very little development costs compared to other
tablets.
Since there're no real major significant hardware/OS deltas, then the key factors were/are:
1. max the advertising and create perceived feature benefits, e.g. more apps, weight/thinness
deltas (marginal), over other tablets when the majority of tablet use is to just access
the internet & email
2. have naive reviewers buy-into the perceived features and second rate other tablets
3. and have Apple fan-boys who are always denigrating non-Apple products
Bottom line: Tell the consumer/reviewer that any viable tablet must have the Apple
eco-system, e.g. a minimum of 50K+ apps!
Well, it's looking like this thing might not be that great afterall... : (
HAHA 200 bucks so you can log into Amazon and buy their products. Last time I checked the Sears catalogue was free. This is genius only for those who want to be forced to do more business with Amazon.
I like the PlayBook the best, at 299. I admit 499 was sillly. You can't compete head on with Apple, let's be realistic, they have way to much momentum with consumers. But that doesn't mean their devices are better. The iPad isn't that portable and its slippery. I imagine most iPads never leave the house, and at most, visit a coffee shop once and awhile. They are not truly mobile devices and as such, had RIM come out with a 10" tablet, the media would have pounded it for what a failure and at 10""what were they thinking, what a failure"..
Had Jobs promoted a 7" pad, the market would have said "genius".. but such is the obsession that mainstream Apple bandwagon has with Jobs.
For years developers had desperately tried to promote Linux, and also many bloggers asked why Linux-based QNX wasn't on a mobile phone. Then they get their wish, and the media and Wall Street, who prefer corporate monopolies, pounded RIM and promoted their investment in Apple and Google which is over 50x the size of RIM market cap. Developers need to step up and start supporting Linux. RIM needs to reach out to the Linux community and show them why they should support QNX.