TechCrunch: Amazon’s Kindle Tablet Is Very Real

[OtterBooks]

Originally Posted by boswd

but there is an intergrated ecosystem one that is tied to OS platform Go to the Android market and you have an a place to buy movies, games, apps, books etc. my point is it's not tied into one particular piece of hardware.

It is more advantageous to the consumer not to be locked into a single device. If want to go from Asus to Samsung my media comes with me. With iOS you have one piece of hardware. Sure it's great for apple but you are slave to the companies next hardware model. and if you don't like it then you are SOL. If I own the Asus and I don't like their next model but love Samsung I can move on and the ecosystem of the Android market and even Amazons cloud and MP3 comes with me.

That does seem like valid reasoning. Then again, people have no problem buying into proprietary gaming consoles. A lot of it I think has to do with the disposable nature of content. People don't hoard content. Much of the content is either streamed (from a service available on multiple platforms), replaced with something new, free to begin with, or flat out discarded. The type of stuff people hang on to tends to be in easily transferable formats anyway.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by stonetools

Wow,the rumor mill is really going into overdrive here!
...
One thing that really stood out: the offer of Amazon Prime if you bought the device. Over and above the free shipping, that also means free acces to Amazon VOD. That might make buying the device worthwhile right there.
My brother, who loves Amazon, might actually buy this device, even though he has an iPad.

I am a member of Amazon Prime. Including Prime with the Amazon Color Kindle will reduce the price to $171, about the price that the Barnes and Noble is selling refurbished Color Nooks for.

I suppose it is too much to hope that the Prime inclusion is for more than one year.

[OtterBooks]

Originally Posted by frahse

I suppose it is too much to hope that the Prime inclusion is for more than one year.

That's a big question mark, indeed. Is it free Prime..forever? Or at least so long as you own/use the device, or something?

[frahse]

Originally Posted by stonetools

Ios is PROOF that you are wrong. Amazon's attempt to mirror Ios on the Android side is further proof that you are wrong. The failure of Android tablets-including the Xoom-in the consumer marketplace is yet more proof that you are wrong.

It is not opinion, but fact, that nine million iPads sold last quarter and that Apple could sell 50 million iPads this year.
Its a fact that 95 per cent of prospective tablet consumers want an Ipad.
It is a fact that developers are flocking to the Ios platform and are earning far money there than on Android.
It is a fact that consumer satisfaction for Apple products are generally the among the highest
It is a fact that consumers consistently find Apple products the easiest and most intuitive to use.

The reason is simple. Apple controls and fine tunes the user experience all the way from product development to customer support. They know what the customer wants and what works best. Then they execute really well.

Heck, forget Apple. Look at Amazon. They built the store( Amazon),the hardware (Kindle) and the software that integrates the two. The Kindle store is to the Kindle as iTunes is to Ios devices. Guess which ebookstore dominates the market, and has the greatest customer loyalty?

In light of all that, you may want to reconsider your opinion about tying hardware to ecosystem. Sure I know that you are quoting to me Android fanboy dogma, but seriously?

Much of what you say is has weight. The often quoted 95% has the least amount.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

I seriously doubt it. I don't see how Amazon could afford to include free 3G at that price; not for a tablet. That's tons of data usage. If they did have it come with free 3G, though, it would be like dropping a bomb on the tablet market.

If 3G was offered for anything more than the "etch-a-sketch" navigational system Kindle has with a shaded gray static screen then it would be dropping a bomb on the cellular providers as well.

I have used that nav. system to read gmail, to look at the internet but it is painful, so I am sure that my total data usage is very very low, and that is how they planned it.

[GreenMonkey]

Originally Posted by stonetools

Finally, the one iTunes isnt the disadvantage techies think it is. There is ONE software program that customers need to learn to download, organize and play its media, one store to buy from, one account to manage , one customer service to haggle with if there is a problem, one password to remember... Get my drift yet?

Amazon has a fantastic all-in-one application that I think is much better than itunes for buying and consuming media...pretty much anything you could want. It's even hosted in the CLOUD (buzzword!!).

It's called Amazon.com.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by stonetools

Its a fact that 95 per cent of prospective tablet consumers want an Ipad.

I don't remember this fact coming into discussion. I do remember this:

[boswd]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

That does seem like valid reasoning. Then again, people have no problem buying into proprietary gaming consoles. A lot of it I think has to do with the disposable nature of content. People don't hoard content. Much of the content is either streamed (from a service available on multiple platforms), replaced with something new, free to begin with, or flat out discarded. The type of stuff people hang on to tends to be in easily transferable formats anyway.

I guess that depends on the content, but your apps, your books, your music, games etc are going to be downloads you are going to want to be able to bring with you. Movies I can see being the most disposable out of the bunch, I can see renting more often than buying on a tablet.

[stonetools]

Originally Posted by boswd

I guess that depends on the content, but your apps, your books, your music, games etc are going to be downloads you are going to want to be able to bring with you. Movies I can see being the most disposable out of the bunch, I can see renting more often than buying on a tablet.

Heck, when my Android smartphone broke and I shifted to IOs , I lost my apps, books, and games. Now I didn't have much and if I bought another Android phone, I'd get them back, but its no big deal, really. The stuff is not GOLD, after all. Its easily replaceable .

I guess too maybe the youngsters forget that proprietatry formats have been part of consumer electronics since day one. I've got a hundred albums on cassette tape that never sees the light of day anymore, now that everything has gone digital.
In any case, consumers are clearly going for the ease , convenience and QUALITY of Ios ecosystem over Android. You arguments have merit-for techies who have no problem buying stuff from various places, using and learning different software programs, guarding against malware, remembering various passwords, etc. Average consumer doesnt want to be bothered.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by stonetools

Heck, when my Android smartphone broke and I shifted to IOs , I lost my apps, books, and games. Now I didn't have much and if I bought another Android phone, I'd get them back, but its no big deal, really. The stuff is not GOLD, after all. Its easily replaceable .

I guess too maybe the youngsters forget that proprietatry formats have been part of consumer electronics since day one. I've got a hundred albums on cassette tape that never sees the light of day anymore, now that everything has gone digital.
In any case, consumers are clearly going for the ease , convenience and QUALITY of Ios ecosystem over Android. You arguments have merit-for techies who have no problem buying stuff from various places, using and learning different software programs, guarding against malware, remembering various passwords, etc. Average consumer doesnt want to be bothered.

That depends on the individual wouldn't you think? If I have a ton of apps that I paid for, especially the $2.99's and the $5.99's types and you have a ton of books which can go from anywhere from free to $12.99 and sometimes higher you aren't so quick to just say "eh, who cares".

Free stuff sure, it's a pain but not a big deal, if you bought alot of stuff then it's not as seamless as you make it out to be.

which especially makes it great on Android. if I move from one device to another all I need to do is plug in my gmail and everything is right there waiting, contacts, email address, music, apps, etc.

that is seamless.

You just don't have that type of freedom on iOS, i'm sorry but you don't. You get one device, like it or not you have no choice. It's like the Hotel California you can always check out but you can never leave

[Synergi]

Originally Posted by boswd

You do know that the Android Market has an ecosytem of
Apps
Movies
Books
Games

don't you?

https://market.android.com/

add to that the support for amazon MP3, Netflix, Hulu+,Blockbuster, Nook, kindle, Kobo and sonyreader apps and what you have is a much more versatile and more open ecosystem than what you get with iOS which is iTunes or nothing.

You keep speaking as if you buy an android tablet and then you have nothing to put on it.

Yes, but when I buy out of amazon's store, I know the app will be virus free and it will work on my device. If it doesn't, I know I can easily get refunded. The Ecosystem is going to be the deciding factor. Amazon has it, Apple has it..

I get my updates from Amazon. No more will I have to get angry that Android 3.0 is out but my stupid manufacturer won't upgrade me past 2.2. I won't have to feel obsolete a week after I buy it. Pretty much like my iPad. Ipad2 is out but we are running he same OS so I'm fine. You don't get that experience with Android. You might get, maybe 2 updates in OS if your lucky, then its on to the 20 new tablets that's came out since you bought yours. You're left feeling forgotten. I don't think that is how it will be when you buy Amazon.

Lets not forget its rumored people will get a year of Prime, free shipping, 4 dollar over night shipping.. AND free streaming movies too? B&N is going to be hard pressed to compete with that. The other Android Manufacturer also just can't compete on that level.

I have an Android phone, and lately, I've been getting my Apps out of Amazon's store rather then Google's. I like the experience better, and I trust Amazon more..(been shopping with them over 10 years now.) All of that will mean something when it comes to tablet sales.

I just find it ironic that Googles ''open'' system cause the Telco companies to screw us when Apple had been making such great gains to win freedom away from them. Now that same ''open'' system has allowed Amazon to step in, lock Google out of their own system, and most probably, will end up being the biggest selling Android tablet.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by Synergi

Yes, but when I buy out of amazon's store, I know the app will be virus free and it will work on my device. If it doesn't, I know I can easily get refunded. The Ecosystem is going to be the deciding factor. Amazon has it, Apple has it..

Lets not forget its rumored people will get a year of Prime, free shipping, 4 dollar over night shipping.. AND free streaming movies too? B&N is going to be hard pressed to compete with that.

I'm not comparing Amazon to Android, Amazon is using the Android platform. It's to the comments about Android having a lack of an integrated ecosystem, I was just pointing that is no longer true, the Android market does have one.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by Synergi

Yes, but when I buy out of amazon's store, I know the app will be virus free and it will work on my device..

You had apps with viruses for your nook and edge?

[stonetools]

Originally Posted by boswd

That depends on the individual wouldn't you think? If I have a ton of apps that I paid for, especially the $2.99's and the $5.99's types and you have a ton of books which can go from anywhere from free to $12.99 and sometimes higher you aren't so quick to just say "eh, who cares".

Free stuff sure, it's a pain but not a big deal, if you bought alot of stuff then it's not as seamless as you make it out to be.

which especially makes it great on Android. if I move from one device to another all I need to do is plug in my gmail and everything is right there waiting, contacts, email address, music, apps, etc.

that is seamless.

You just don't have that type of freedom on iOS, i'm sorry but you don't. You get one device, like it or not you have no choice. It's like the Hotel California you can always check out but you can never leave

Hey everyone is different but you can also make conclusions based on what the majority of consumers want. The average consumer wants the Apple Ios experience where convenience, security and quality is prized over "freedom", as you call it. What's interesting is that Amazon appears ready to offer an "Apple-ized" version of Android -a fork of the Android OS that will likely be more closed than Google's, a more highly curated app store, a one stop shopping experience. As we have seen, there are Android users who would welcome that.

[Andrew H.]

Everything being equal, it is always better to have platform independent content. Being able to play a DVD on any company's DVD player attached to any television is better than having 3 dvd formats that only play on specific DVD players.

The big issue, however, is that everything is so often *not* equal. And you then have to choose between content you want that is not open, or an open system that does not have the content you want.