Amazon expands $50 Fire tablet lineup with new colors, offers 16GB model for $70

Posted:
in iPad edited April 2016
Amazon has expanded its budget-priced tablet lineup, offering the $50 Fire in new magenta, blue and tangerine colors, and also launching a 16-gigabyte version priced at $70 [updated].

The 7-inch, $49.99 fire is now available to purchase in blue, magenta and tangerine, joining the original black option. As before, it sports a 1.3-gigahertz quad-core processor, rear- and front-facing cameras, and 8 gigabytes of storage with a microSD slot for expansion.

All four colors are also available in a larger 16-gigabyte internal capacity for $69.99. As is par for the course with Amazon, the touchscreen tablets come with "special offers" in the form of advertisements that contribute to the bargain pricing.

Finally, the Fire Kids Edition has also been expanded to include a green kid-proof case and 16 gigabytes of internal storage for $119.99. Children's models with blue and pink cases are also available in 16-gigabyte capacities for the same price, while the 8-gigabyte model remains available for $99.99.

The low-end $50 Fire tablet debuted last September. The online retailer has aggressively targeted cost-minded consumers with low-end devices that devices like Apple's iPad don't reach.

Apple, instead, has been pushing even further toward the high end of the tablet market. Its 12.9-inch iPad Pro launched last fall with a starting price of $799, while the 9.7-inch model sells starting at $599 --?a $100 increase over the historical starting price for a new iPad in that size.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    I'm curious to see if Apple releases an iPad Mini with Pencil support. Kids would be a candidate market; great Christmas gift!

    I guess the name would be "iPad Mini Pro"?
  • Reply 2 of 12
    rogifan_newrogifan_new Posts: 4,297member
    sog35 said:
    More. Cheap. Crap.

    How irresponsible this company is. These pathetic tablets last only a few months. While iPads last for 5 years. Why isn't anyone mentioning the economic impact all these cheap POS tablets have on the environment? I bet the average life of Kindle crap is less than a year. So they are generating 5x the amount of waste.
    And yet you want Apple to license its operating systems to companies that will make cheap crap just like this (there are no high end hardware makers that would adopt iOS).
    jbdragonsingularityjonl
  • Reply 3 of 12
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    I am shocked Amazon crap on this site. Once is a crap is always a crap. I have HP TouchPad tablet sitting in my drawer since 2011 which is still better than current Amazon tablet.
  • Reply 4 of 12
    singularitysingularity Posts: 1,328member
    sog35 said:
    And yet you want Apple to license its operating systems to companies that will make cheap crap just like this (there are no high end hardware makers that would adopt iOS).
    Did you even read what I wrote?

    Any hardware that would be licensed to use iOS would have to be approved by Apple. It would not be a free for all like Android. Apple would make sure the hardware was of good quality (equal to older iPhones). Its not that hard to build a phone with quality hardware. The hard part is the OS.

    High end hardware makers would jump at the chance to make phones with iOS. Sony, HTC, Samsung, Nokia would all pay the royalty fee to load their phones with iOS. 
    You sir are insane. Doolally, off your rocker, a brewery short of a six pack.
    iOS should only be used on an Apple piece of hardware.
    jonlwaverboy
  • Reply 5 of 12
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    sog35 said:
    Did you even read what I wrote?

    Any hardware that would be licensed to use iOS would have to be approved by Apple. It would not be a free for all like Android. Apple would make sure the hardware was of good quality (equal to older iPhones). Its not that hard to build a phone with quality hardware. The hard part is the OS.

    High end hardware makers would jump at the chance to make phones with iOS. Sony, HTC, Samsung, Nokia would all pay the royalty fee to load their phones with iOS. 
    You sir are insane. Doolally, off your rocker, a brewery short of a six pack.
    iOS should only be used on an Apple piece of hardware.
    Point made by previous commentator is if Apple/IOS wants to completely dominate mobile world than it could have open sourced IOS to any phone manufacturers like android but IOS choose to be not prostitute where everyone can muck around..Same goes for MAC OSX. Apple software on Apple hardware is the best marriage in haven.
    edited April 2016
  • Reply 6 of 12
    supadav03supadav03 Posts: 503member
    OK, new colors make sense. People love new colors and options but $20 for an extra 8GB of storage? Why would anyone pay that? Amazon has Class 10/USH-I 64GB memory cards for around $20 all day. 
  • Reply 7 of 12
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    wood1208 said:
    You sir are insane. Doolally, off your rocker, a brewery short of a six pack.
    iOS should only be used on an Apple piece of hardware.
    Point made by previous commentator is if Apple/IOS wants to completely dominate mobile world than it could have open sourced IOS to any phone manufacturers like android but IOS choose to be not prostitute where everyone can muck around..Same goes for MAC OSX. Apple software on Apple hardware is the best marriage in haven.
    I don't think you understand how prostitution works  ;)
    edited April 2016
  • Reply 8 of 12
    sog35 said:
    More. Cheap. Crap.

    How irresponsible this company is. These pathetic tablets last only a few months. While iPads last for 5 years. Why isn't anyone mentioning the economic impact all these cheap POS tablets have on the environment? I bet the average life of Kindle crap is less than a year. So they are generating 5x the amount of waste.
    Well, as cheap crap goes, the Kindle is the best. I sell tablets and the Kindle Fire 7" is the best sub 100$ tablet I've seen, let alone sub 50$, easily beating out the flagship tablets of just a few years ago. For instance, the Tab E Light, just introduced by Samsung, is basically a rewrapped Tab 3. It's basically a 3 year old machine that is way less usable than the Kindle at twice the price. 
  • Reply 9 of 12
    waverboywaverboy Posts: 106member
    sog35 said:
    Why should Apple license iOS?

    1. iPhone hardware sales have reached a peak. They need to find a way to increase iOS users.
    2. There is a massive part of the market Apple can't service. $100-$300 phones. 
    3. It would be to risky for Apple to sell iPhones that cost $100-$300
    4. $100-$300 phones have too low margins and would canibalize more expensive iPhones

    The way to address the 1 billion phones that are sold each year at the $100-$300 price point is to license a 'light' version of iOS.

    How should Apple license iOS?

    1. Apple will select hardware makers
    2. Apple will select which models will be allow to have iOS 'light'
    3. Apple will make sure these models are up to spec to run iOS 'light' smoothly and can accept software updates
    4. Apple has the right to remove these licenses at anytime if the hardware maker fails to provide a quality product
    5. Apple will charge a royalty of $30 or 20% of the retail price, which ever is higher
    6. iOS light will be a version of iOS that has core features like AppStore but not the more advanced features that require more processing power or specific hardware (3d touch)
    7. Having 2 versions of iOS will allow iPhone to remain the top-tier product and minimize canibalization

    What will Apple accomplish by licensing iOS light?

    1. Greatly increase its iOS install base
    2. A install base of 2 billion will greatly increase Apple's services revenue
    3. iOS light will be a great introduction to new users. Many will eventually buy an iPhone to all the features of iOS
    4. A large install base will weaken Android's moat even more
    5. iOS licensing will allow Apple to grow for another decade

    What are the risks of licensing iOS?

    1. Canibalization. But this can be addressed by only licensing a light version of iOS without all the features. Also iOS light will not be licensed to high end phones.
    2. Weakening of the iPhone brand.  I don't think so. Think of iOS light as a 'trial version' of a full blown iPhone. Those who want the best will still buy iPhones.
    3. Energy to manage two operating systems. Not really. Apple already does this with iOS. They withhold features on older iPhones like iPhone 4S today. This is pretty much the same thing.
    It will never happen.
    singularity
  • Reply 10 of 12
    sog35 said:
    Well, as cheap crap goes, the Kindle is the best. I sell tablets and the Kindle Fire 7" is the best sub 100$ tablet I've seen, let alone sub 50$, easily beating out the flagship tablets of just a few years ago. For instance, the Tab E Light, just introduced by Samsung, is basically a rewrapped Tab 3. It's basically a 3 year old machine that is way less usable than the Kindle at twice the price. 
    sure. But Kindle App store really does suck.

    I bought the first Kindle Fire years ago. Those really sucked.
    I bought one for $35 dollars during the Christmas sale.  You can run a script that installs the google play store, so you can get chrome, chromecast, etc.  It basically becomes a full android tablet with a terrible launcher.  I keep it as a bedside device with the ipad air down in the family room.  I wouldn't recommend it to anyone as their sole tablet, but if you want something cheap and small it will get the job done.
    edited April 2016
  • Reply 11 of 12
    eriamjheriamjh Posts: 1,631member
    sog35 said:
    waverboy said:
    It will never happen.
    You do know Jobs license MacOS many times in the past
    Jobs didn't.  Apple did under Gil Amelio and when MacOS was updated, Jobs killed the money-losing licensing program by calling it 8 instead of 7.7, triggering termination per the terms of the contract.  

    Licensing MacOS cost Apple a lot of money as clone builders took away premium customers from Apple by selling more-powerful hardware for less.  It didn't help spread MacOS, but instead took market share from Apple.  

    It it was a mistake then and would be now.  Learn history so it is not repeated.   
    bancho
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