New Amazon Kindle Fire tablet said to be slower version of RIM's PlayBook

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
Amazon's new Android-based tablet, apparently named the Kindle Fire, is said to be based on the same basic design as RIM's PlayBook, built by the same maker, apart from having a slower processor intended to make it cheaper.



According to a report by Ryan Block of Gdgt, Amazon's forthcoming new Android-based tablet is targeted at the Barnes & Noble Nook Color rather than Apple' s iPad, and is essentially a stopgap offering rushed to make the 2011 holiday buying season.



In order to make that deadline, and to avoid distracting its existing "Lab 126" working on conventional e-ink based Kindle devices, Block said that Amazon worked with Original Design Manufacturer Quanta.



As an ODM, Quanta builds notebooks, netbooks and other devices that are rebranded by other companies. Quanta was the original ODM for the XO-1 notebook aimed at third world markets, and also helped RIM build its PlayBook tablet (depicted below).







For Amazon, Block says Quanta used RIM's PlayBook as a design template to quickly bring a tablet device to market. "I'm told Amazon ran into trouble," Block reported, "and eventually sacrifices were made (like using a slower processor)."



Block said the first generation Android Kindle is "supposed to be pretty poor," calling the device a "stopgap" device and part of an effort to "do whatever it takes to get in the game."



As for Android enthusiasts hoping that Amazon's new tablet will rival the iPad, Block wrote, "I wouldn't get my hopes up that this is going to be an iPad-killer -- nor do I think Amazon really intends it to be."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 80
    Surely there's a paragraph missing at the end there, no? Editor-at-large?
  • Reply 2 of 80
    I don't see this gaining much market share. You can spend $250 on the Kindle Fire, or $500 on an iPad that does so much more, including running the Kindle app.
  • Reply 3 of 80
    I don't own one, but the Barnes and Noble Nook Color as done a decent job of avoiding a direct comparison to the iPad.



    Why would anyone release anything that is "supposed to be poor"? I don't care if its a tablet or a bar of soap. If the answer is to just get something to the market, that is pure stupidity. Who is Ryan Block, anyway? His personal website has no updates this year and one every six months in 2010. Gdgt lists the Wii as its #1 gadget, followed by Windows 7. The iPad 2 is #9???
  • Reply 4 of 80
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    So, a slower and worse version of the Playbook, which flopped by the way, is supposed to be the next game changing iPad killer to come along?



  • Reply 5 of 80
    Given that it's really an Android tablet with Amazon's custom UI and app store, I don't get why anybody would want it except for novices who don't know any better. You can already find inexpensive Android 7" tablets for around $99.
  • Reply 6 of 80
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by darkpaw View Post


    I don't see this gaining much market share. You can spend $250 on the Kindle Fire, or $500 on an iPad that does so much more, including running the Kindle app.



    Or, if you simply want an ereader, you can get one for $129.



    I can see someone paying $250 for something that's less capable than the iPad. I can not, however, see someone paying twice as much as a Kindle in order to get the limited advantages that this unit has- and an arguably worse screen.
  • Reply 7 of 80
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member
    "supposed to be pretty poor" is a quote from Block, not Amazon.
  • Reply 8 of 80
    tipootipoo Posts: 1,141member
    AI, Oh AI...



    Why is it that nearly every other tech blog out there is reporting a dual core OMAP/Cortex A9 at 1.2GHz, whereas you simply report "slower"?



    http://gizmodo.com/5844019/rumor-ama...he-kindle-fire



    http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/26/k...y-set-to-ship/
  • Reply 9 of 80
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Negafox View Post


    Given that it's really an Android tablet with Amazon's custom UI and app store, I don't get why anybody would want it except for novices who don't know any better. You can already find inexpensive Android 7" tablets for around $99.



    It's not an Android tablet.



    It's a colour Kindle.
  • Reply 10 of 80
    macrulezmacrulez Posts: 2,455member
    deleted
  • Reply 11 of 80
    Kindle Fire, make it $99, it will be a fire sale.
  • Reply 12 of 80
    Sounds like a recipe for success!
  • Reply 13 of 80
    WTF! People just get an iPad 2 (or iPad 3) please why don't you!
  • Reply 14 of 80
    I think some folks need to adjust what is meant by "ipad killer". Just like the OEM's, folks seem to be reading too much into the hardware specs of the device. Any iPad fan should know that it's not the hardware that sells the thing, it's its overall usability (interface, software, hardware, app store, content, etc). The aspect that makes some folks think that this has a chance of decently competing (after all, no one truly takes the "killer" word seriously these days right) is that Amazon is in a position to offer a pretty reasonable overall experience to the user, in very much the same way that the iPad does. No whether or not they can pull this off is a different story, but anyone poo-pooing the thing because it has a slower processor or because "you can buy other Android tablets for $xx less" is really missing the point.



    And for those who are saying "why not just spend $200 more and get a "real" tablet like an iPad. Well, there are plenty of folks out there for whom $200 isn't a "just spend $xx more" type of expense. $200 buys you a lot of books/songs/movies/etc/etc.
  • Reply 15 of 80
    I am left wondering what RIM has to say about this. Don't they have any IP interest in their own design? Unless unlike Apple, RIM writes "Designed in China, Made in China" on the back of their device. Is a fabricator like Quanta free to take the template of whatever they make for someone else and repurpose it for another client? Something is missing here.



    Yeah, I know, the Playbook is not counted a big success, but still . . .
  • Reply 16 of 80
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    So, a slower and worse version of the Playbook, which flopped by the way, is supposed to be the next game changing iPad killer to come along?



    No - in fact, pains were taken to say exactly the opposite:



    Block wrote, "I wouldn't get my hopes up that this is going to be an iPad-killer -- nor do I think Amazon really intends it to be."



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bitWrangler View Post


    And for those who are saying "why not just spend $200 more and get a "real" tablet like an iPad. Well, there are plenty of folks out there for whom $200 isn't a "just spend $xx more" type of expense. $200 buys you a lot of books/songs/movies/etc/etc.



    For that matter, there are people supporting families in this world for whom $200 is the difference between surviving and being out on the street.
  • Reply 17 of 80
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacRulez View Post


    Apparently not a bad place to be:

    http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/...ts/Report.aspx



    Since there is no such thing as a tablet market, and only an iPad market, its not surprising share did not rise around that time.



    Apple explained it in their earnings report for that quarter. They were supply constrained.
  • Reply 18 of 80
    nkalunkalu Posts: 315member
    Here comes the so much hyped "iPad Killer".

    Why would Amazon settle for that?
  • Reply 19 of 80
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    It's a Kindle Tablet with a touchscreen and it costs $249. That's all the average Joe will know. It will sell well.
  • Reply 20 of 80
    I'm sure it will have it's share of it's own market.



    Amazon's market has nothing to do with Apple's in that field.

    They do ebook readers with add-on features.



    the kindle is 90's technologies. (I handle one more often than I should)



    they need a competitive product in their field.
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