JP Morgan executive director Mark Moskowitz is not impressed with Amazon’s first attempt in the tablet market. In a recent note to investors, Moskowitz said the tablet is just “noise,” and that it lacks too many features to be a valid competitor. “We are not impressed with Kindle Fire,” Moskowitz wrote. “In our view, [the Kindle Fire] is a stepping stone, at best, into the tablet market. We think that for any vendor to wrestle momentum from Apple, a fully-loaded offering is a must, and here, Kindle Fire falls short for now.” Read on for more.
The Kindle Fire is more affordable than the iPad for consuming media such as eBooks, movies and music. As such, research firm IDC thinks the Kindle Fire has the power to “radically redraw” the current tablet landscape. Its $200 price point may allow consumers who already own PCs and smartphones, but were holding off on purchasing a tablet due to the $500 cost of entry, to get in on the tablet game.
Amazon also has a more powerful device in the pipeline, too. We reported exclusively in May about the online retailer’s plans to launch the Kindle Fire, originally codenamed “Coyote,” as well as a more robust quad-core tablet codenamed “Hollywood.” Recent reports suggest that the Hollywood may ship as soon as the first quarter of 2012.
