Amazon said to be lining up Taiwanese component suppliers for Q3 tablet launch
Reports from the Asian supply chain regarding upcoming tablets from online retailer Amazon have continued to emerge, with industry sources claiming the company is tapping Taiwanese vendors for a launch in the third quarter of this year.
DigiTimes reported on Wednesday that Taiwanese Integrated Circuit design houses are expected to see sales "move up vigorously" in the September quarter ahead of the rumored launch of a line of Amazon-branded tablets.
Industry sources said the company is planning 7- and 10-inch tablets. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that Amazon was outsourcing a "roughly nine-inch screen" tablet to an Asian manufacturer and planning a touchscreen version of its Kindle e-reader, which could correspond to the 7-inch device that supplier sources have suggested.
According to DigiTimes sources, the tablet will be assembled solely by Quanta, with Chunghwa Picture Tubes supplying touch sensors for the supposed 7-inch model. The report claimed 2.0-2.4 million touch panels will be shipped to Amazon by the end of September, with Wintek accounting for 70 to 75 percent of the volume. The company reportedly expects to ship a total of four million tablets this year.
Other suppliers rumored to providing components for the project include: Nvidia (CPU; ILI Technology (Touch controller ICs); Novatek Microelectronics (LCD driver ICs); Capella Microsystems and Sitronix Technology (Ambient light sensors); Richtek Technology and Global Mixed-code Technology (Power management ICs); and Sitronix (Gravity sensors).
Sources: Industry sources, compiled by Digitimes, July 2011
Sources added that Amazon's heavy use of Taiwan-based IC suppliers will enhance the companies' "competitiveness against international IC players later on."
The much-anticipated Amazon tablet has been proclaimed by some to be the biggest threat to Apple's dominance in the tablet market. Pundits view Amazon's music, e-book, video and
DigiTimes reported on Wednesday that Taiwanese Integrated Circuit design houses are expected to see sales "move up vigorously" in the September quarter ahead of the rumored launch of a line of Amazon-branded tablets.
Industry sources said the company is planning 7- and 10-inch tablets. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that Amazon was outsourcing a "roughly nine-inch screen" tablet to an Asian manufacturer and planning a touchscreen version of its Kindle e-reader, which could correspond to the 7-inch device that supplier sources have suggested.
According to DigiTimes sources, the tablet will be assembled solely by Quanta, with Chunghwa Picture Tubes supplying touch sensors for the supposed 7-inch model. The report claimed 2.0-2.4 million touch panels will be shipped to Amazon by the end of September, with Wintek accounting for 70 to 75 percent of the volume. The company reportedly expects to ship a total of four million tablets this year.
Other suppliers rumored to providing components for the project include: Nvidia (CPU; ILI Technology (Touch controller ICs); Novatek Microelectronics (LCD driver ICs); Capella Microsystems and Sitronix Technology (Ambient light sensors); Richtek Technology and Global Mixed-code Technology (Power management ICs); and Sitronix (Gravity sensors).
Sources: Industry sources, compiled by Digitimes, July 2011
Sources added that Amazon's heavy use of Taiwan-based IC suppliers will enhance the companies' "competitiveness against international IC players later on."
The much-anticipated Amazon tablet has been proclaimed by some to be the biggest threat to Apple's dominance in the tablet market. Pundits view Amazon's music, e-book, video and
Comments
Time to sue Amazon also, Apple
Isn't it remarkable that competitors to Apple release almost the same stuff 18-24 month after Apple invents something?
The much-anticipated Amazon tablet has been proclaimed by some to be the biggest threat to Apple's dominance in the tablet market
Like 15 other crapblets before?.
Like 15 other crapblets before….
might be funny now, but don't forget that amazon has book store, music store, video store - so they have some sort of 'eco-system' although not on the same level as apple but it's there.
i'm not saying it's gonna be a success story but i believe that it will be more successful than samsung/rim/hp
the only problem is that amazon doesn't seem to have any original ideas lately. all they do is copy others (video streaming - netflix, audio locker - apple, app store - both google and apple). the only original kit they've produced lately is kindle.
not talking about amazon user experience which has always sucked.
Will it use Android?
Time to sue Amazon also, Apple
Isn't it remarkable that competitors to Apple release almost the same stuff 18-24 month after Apple invents something?
And how their various fan bases always defend this as innovative is hilarious. The old joke that Microsoft's R&D department was called 'Apple' has never been more true for the entire tech industry.
The only good news is Apple's tablet copycats simply multiply and fight for the available oxygen left, between themselves.
might be funny now, but don't forget that amazon has book store, music store, video store - so they have some sort of 'eco-system' although not on the same level as apple but it's there.
i'm not saying it's gonna be a success story but i believe that it will be more successful than samsung/rim/hp
Depend on the price. If it's not cheaper like everyone expects from Amazon product then it might not be much different from the rest. Remember, Amazon tablet could turn out to be the worst of both world. It's not Apple's and it might be walled garden.
If this tablet poses a threat to anyone it is Google. Amazon has their own ecosystem and because Android is so wonderfully free and open it shouldn't surprise anyone if they remove all ties to Google and replace their services with Amazon's equivalents, which will probably be better. Just look at how Verizon made Bing the default search engine on the Captivate. If it runs Android it will be Android only in name. Ever article that talks about the tablet wars always puts Google against Android but sales have shown this is not the case. In reality it's a race to number two with the Android tablets eating each other's lunch.
With Apple also placing bigger orders with these same companies Amazon will have no advantage.
Jeez, by who? (apart from Amazon shareholders and Apple haters)
Jeez, by who?l
Deal hunters.
Will it use Android?
Time to sue Amazon also, Apple
Isn't it remarkable that competitors to Apple release almost the same stuff 18-24 month after Apple invents something?
Apple popularizes things and makes them an attractive buy to consumers, but they didn't invent touch screen phones or tablets.
might be funny now, but don't forget that amazon has book store, music store, video store - so they have some sort of 'eco-system' although not on the same level as apple but it's there.
i'm not saying it's gonna be a success story but i believe that it will be more successful than samsung/rim/hp
the only problem is that amazon doesn't seem to have any original ideas lately. all they do is copy others (video streaming - netflix, audio locker - apple, app store - both google and apple). the only original kit they've produced lately is kindle.
not talking about amazon user experience which has always sucked.
They also have dozens of millions of credit cards on file. Even if they are come in as a distant second to the iPad they could still be the defacto Android tablet easily closing out their Android competition.
Will it use Android?
Time to sue Amazon also, Apple
Isn't it remarkable that competitors to Apple release almost the same stuff 18-24 month after Apple invents something?
Yes, and when Apple sues them for stealing their ideas, these "competitors" whine about Apple not competing fairly in the marketplace. Really? Not competing fairly in a marketplace that Apple created and that others have stolen? It's obvious who is in the wrong here.
HTC is already courting Apple and offering to license the Apple patents that the courts ruled HTC violated. Apple should levy such a hefty licensing fee as to shut Android down. I would rather see Apple's iOS compete against Windows Phone 7/8 than Android. I'd like to see nothing more than Google fail. The reason? Google has been profiting tremendously from "open source" while at the same time violating patents and stealing almost all of Apple's ideas. I don't like that.
Other suppliers rumored to providing components for the project include: Nvidia (CPU; ILI Technology (Touch controller ICs); Novatek Microelectronics (LCD driver ICs); Capella Microsystems and Sitronix Technology (Ambient light sensors); Richtek Technology and Global Mixed-code Technology (Power management ICs); and Sitronix (Gravity sensors).
I thought TI's OMAP was the processor, not nVidia?
The Amazon tablet will benefit Amazon's shareholders a lot more than all of iPad's sales combined is helping Apple shareholders even if only a few are sold. Over the past 52 weeks, Amazon's share price percentage rise has been even better than Apple's. Wall Street will give the benefit of the doubt to Amazon being able to sell even 4 million tablets to Apple's 29 million tablets. Four million tablets being sold will be considered successful for Amazon and will undoubtedly lift Amazon's share price tremendously. Why Amazon's coming tablet is given the benefit of the doubt for success makes no sense at all since in all likelihood it could easily be a failure like any of the earlier Android tablets.
Wall Street is not focusing on Amazon's success in tablets. The say Amazon's growth is coming from the continued move to online purchasing which they dominate.
First, Apple can’t produce enough tablets to fit the market. An Amazon tablet that is basically a book tablet with music and possibly video capabilities might meet the needs of Grandma. If it is light enough, easy enough to use and cheap enough, it would fill a niche at a price that may be of no interest to Apple.
Secondly, I suspect Amazon does not have the smarts and experience to develop a tablet capable of the same experiences that the iPod delivers, yet. That’s a sophistication that isn’t spawned over night or over a few years. However, given time, it could come to challenge many of the iPad’s strengths.
A cheap tablet for special interests of those not interested in complex apps would be crumbs to the Apple universe at this point. Apple doesn’t make much off its Apps Store; it seems to just be an important part of the ecosystem that makes the iPad so versatile.
On the other hand, the iPad seems so flexible and intuitive that if Apple were to produce an inexpensive plastic model in the three hundred dollar range to meet the needs of Grandma and starve the copy cats even more might cement its control in the field of tablets.
Apple is doing some amazing things with the MBA which may be a Trojan horse in the computer world. Rumours of its direction with the MBP sound very interesting. What if Apple came out with a second line of an even cheaper iPad for less sophisticated needs?
Just some rambling thoughts.
You saw just about every Android tablet needed a sizeable price-cut to move. Why would Amazon jump into this? So, the share-holders won't butcher the stock if they run out of ideas to create more value for their over-priced stock.
On the other hand, the iPad seems so flexible and intuitive that if Apple were to produce an inexpensive plastic model in the three hundred dollar range to meet the needs of Grandma and starve the copy cats even more might cement its control in the field of tablets.
What if Apple came out with a second line of an even cheaper iPad for less sophisticated needs?
Just some rambling thoughts.
Nice ramble although speaking from my Grandma's personal experience, Apple's products don't have to be cheap and they are already idiot proof (i.e. non technical) that even Grandma can find easy. My Grandma saw me access family photos on Flickr with my AppleTV connected to my TV that she requested setup. Then she played around with YouTube (lots of cat videos) and iTunes and was hooked. She saw me stream photos/videos from my iPhone/iPad to the new AppleTV using Airplay so again, she requested same setup. So in a nutshell, Grandma doesn't need to settle for less sophisticated products that are just cheaper. Apple makes them Grandma proof.