Amazon tablet could launch this summer

By on Apr 20, 2011 at 6:45 PM
Tablets April 20, 2011

Amazon is said to be prepping a new tablet device that may launch as early as this summer. According to a report from gadget site gdgt, Amazon has chosen Samsung to help design and build the tablet, which may run Honeycomb or even a custom operating system based on Google’s Android platform. Rumors of an Amazon tablet have been around for quite some time, and Android was always expected to be Amazon’s OS of choice. News that the company may be building its own OS on top of Android suggests it may forgo some of Google’s core Android services, possibly including the Android Marketplace, and instead use the device to foster adoption of the Amazon Appstore, Cloud Drive and other Amazon services. Of course eBooks — specifically, Amazon’s Kindle platform — are expected to be a major focus of the tablet as well, and Amazon will also likely use the new device to push its music and movie services. Given the added weight and drastically reduced battery life of tablets compared to dedicated eBook readers like the Kindle, it is likely that Amazon’s forthcoming tablet will compliment the Kindle eReader rather than replace it.

[Via Business Insider]

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15 Comments

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  • http://beerpla.net Artem Russakovskii

    I see no definitive proof that this is happening and especially that Samsung is involved, outside of Peter’s own unconfirmed conjecture. BI’s and BGR’s article is based on nothing but one man’s thoughts.

    • DaHarder

      Well then you’re looking at things wrong, because there are few companies better poised to release a (full-fledged) tablet device than Amazon.

      After all they already have the ‘ecosystem’ in place.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Edmond-Chou/598254704 Edmond Chou

    Why Samsung? Sorry Amazon no Samsung for me

    • DaHarder

      Why not ask ‘Why Samsung’ when it comes to them supplying some many Apple components ?

      • Anonymous

        components != design of the product

      • Anonymous

        Because Samsung aren’t in charge of keeping your Apple products up to date.

  • http://profiles.google.com/bphoffa Brandon Hoffman

    what a tard name for a phone

  • anon

    Or “complement”, meaning to add to, as opposed to giving a verbal note of appreciation.

  • Anonymous

    Interestingly Amazon is the only company right now poised to take on the iPad in any real-world competition. They’re the only ones, minus B&N maybe, that has the content library and current user-base to even threaten Apple in the tablet space.

    Look at B&N. The Nook Color technically isn’t even a tablet, so sales numbers are never compared w/ the iPad. But as most techies know, it’s a very capable 250 dollar tablet (with a little tweaking). Semantics. If it was sold as a tablet not as a “color e-reader”, the supposed number is around 3 million in sales. That would cut a pretty hefty chunk of Apple’s market dominance.

    Now, Amazon Kindle has a much larger user base then the Nook. If they can translate those numbers into Kindle Tablet users, even at a fraction, the numbers would be epic. We already know Amazon is hiring up Android developers, and they’ve already implemented Cloud music, cloud storage, and their own app store…

    If the hardware is on par with the 500+ android tablets, but priced at a subsidized 350 or less, I guarantee you it will be the first real tablet to truly “share” the market w/ Apple.

  • http://www.theworldgrowsold.com Mundus Senescit

    I. Must. Have. It.

    • Anonymous

      You know nothing about it!

  • http://twitter.com/brianchau Brian Chau

    Barnes and Noble has the successful NookColor eReader/Tablet based on Android. It wouldn’t surpirsed me if Amazon would want to do something similar.

  • Combunctuous

    The word ‘compliment’ in the last sentence should actually be ‘complement’

  • http://webhostingreview.info/php-hosting/ smithon

    is this gonna come this summer

  • Anonymous

    So as a developer you’ll have to agree to Amazon’s “worse than Apple” store rules (where they get to override your pricing).

    And as a consumer you either get to worry about searching multiple app stores for the same thing, or possibly be restricted to only apps in the the Amazon Market, even though the majority are in the proper Android Market. Just what Android needs–More fragmentation! :)

    And keep in mind, most Kindle buyers are NOT geeks.

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