Amazon Tablet May Cost Hundreds Less Than iPad

[Barty]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

If they can get a decent screen that's bigger than 7" and run ComiXology I'm interested. If they do 7" and run ComiXology it might replace my NC when it dies. No ComiXology, and I'm going elsewhere.

I've seen only 7" LCD and 9.7 or 10". To be "hundreds less" than the iPad it's got to be 7". Or they're getting out of the business on day one.

[Danielle]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

Wild Guess Time:

The big allure of Amazon's tablet could be free stuff included with it: Included Amazon Prime membership, steep discounts on content (or not so steep), maybe even free wireless.

Free Amazon Prime membership -- I may just get one and sell my Kindle 2.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

If any thread needed a big "Duh" and then locked it was this one. No offense but I think it's common knowledge that not only will it be cheaper than the iPad it will be significantly cheaper than the iPad.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by phenomshel

I suppose. Personally, I trust Bezos about as far as I can throw him. But again, that's just my opinion and worth probably less than the traditional .02

And that is the right stance. To me the most creditable part of the tablet rumor comes from digitimes who has a good track record.

[CHunter_Author]

Interesting...my momentum is still heading towards the next iPad, but if worthy and affordable Kindle tablet jumps in the way in time I will consider it.

[tubemonkey]

Amazon Appstore means tablets to follow.

[stonetools]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

When asked about the alleged tablet in an interview, Bezos said "stay tuned." I don't think he would say that if the answer was no, but who knows.

So far as the price goes: show me the hardware. Until then, the price means nothing to me.

What tends to happen is that people fantasize about a $250 tablet that is somehow close to the iPad., then are disappointed when they get $250 tablets with less than half the usability of the iPad.
Realistically, a much cheaper Amazon tablet is going to be less capable than the iPad, and will be limited to the app store. I can hear geeks grumbling in disappointment about these limitations already, and talking about rooting and how Amazon " screwed up" it's tablet.

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by stonetools

$250 tablets with less than half the usability of the iPad

...errr, how are you measuring 'half'?

Not to disagree, but there are lots of (rooted) Nook Color fans that simply wanted a very good tablet without compromises and were happy that the iPad was not the only way to get one.

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

...errr, how are you measuring 'half'?

Not to disagree, but there are lots of (rooted) Nook Color fans that simply wanted a very good tablet without compromises and were happy that the iPad was not the only way to get one.

I've got a rooted Nook Color (actually running CM7) and while I'm more than willing to call it a "very good tablet," I wouldn't say it's entirely without compromise. Simple rooting limits the apps you can install, and CM7 has a deep sleep bug which limits standby life. Neither is insurmountable, but they are compromises.

A 7" screen is also a compromise, it's great for novels, not so great for some other things.

Overall I'd say it's a good 75% of an iPad for about half the price, so I came out ahead of the deal. But I'd still like an iPad at the right price.

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

Overall I'd say it's a good 75% of an iPad for about half the price

Good post, but I don't get the 75% number given the compromises you mentioned.

[vaughnmr]

Originally Posted by stonetools

What tends to happen is that people fantasize about a $250 tablet that is somehow close to the iPad., then are disappointed when they get $250 tablets with less than half the usability of the iPad.
Realistically, a much cheaper Amazon tablet is going to be less capable than the iPad, and will be limited to the app store. I can hear geeks grumbling in disappointment about these limitations already, and talking about rooting and how Amazon " screwed up" it's tablet.

I'm curious about what you mean by "half the usability".

[Lemurion]

I'm a fairly heavy user so the lack of deep sleep doesn't bother me that much. I can always shut it off if I'm not going to be using it for long periods, anyway.

Also, I consider the openness of the platform and expandable storage to be an advantage over the iPad which offsets some of the compromises. The sharper screen's also a factor in its favor (almost 25% higher DPI).

That's why I rate it where I do. Also, I have to say it's 75% as being not quite as good as an iPad but significantly more than half as good as an iPad as opposed to the value between 74% of an iPad and 76% of an iPad.

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

Also, I consider the openness of the platform...to be an advantage over the iPad

In a practical sense, how?

[markbot]

Originally Posted by djulian

I can only hope this is true...

http://gizmodo.com/5834844/amazons-t...-than-the-ipad

If it is, it's likely that they're selling it at a loss, or they're leaving out some key features. I'm interested to see which way they go.

I think the tablet's set to be a big boon for Amazon, as they will be able to provide all the music & movies & apps. If it hits $250 or so, I'm in without too many questions. If it's $350 or over, I'm waiting for a future price drop.

Amazon could be going for the razor blade model since their books are on a proprietary format...also they can make the amazon store the default for movies, music, and apps.

[SCION]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

...CM7 has a deep sleep bug which limits standby life...)

I've encountered this with 7.03. This is no longer the case with 7.1.0.-RC1. I didn't use the device for two weeks (standby mode, wifi on) and it was at 87% when I picked it up again.