Amazon plans to release a tablet computer by October, people familiar with the matter said, intensifying its rivalry with Apple’s iPad.
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Amazon’s tablet will have a roughly nine-inch screen and will run on Google’s Android platform, said people familiar with the device. Unlike the iPad, it won’t have a camera, one of these people said. While the pricing and distribution of the device is unclear, the online retailer won’t design the initial tablet itself. It also is outsourcing production to an Asian manufacturer, the people said.
One of the people said the company is working on another model, of its own design, that could be released next year.
The introduction of a tablet poses a conundrum for Amazon on how to keep from cannibalizing sales of its popular Kindle. Amazon has long said the Kindle is its best-selling device, though it has declined to disclose sales.
A person familiar with Amazon’s thinking said it still figuring out how to market the tablet computer. One issue is whether customers will want to buy both the tablet and Kindle, which is viewed as a dedicated-reading device for bookworms.
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Amazon plans to introduce two updated versions of its black-and-white Kindle in this year’s third quarter, people familiar with the matter said. One of the new Kindles will have a touch screen, which current models don’t have.
WSJ.com – Amazon Plans iPad Rival. An Amazon tablet I’ll probably pass on, in so much as at the moment I’ll pass on the iPad. I’m not sure where a tablet fits into how I consume/create content. A new Kindle though I’ve been waiting for that, defiantly pick up one of those puppies.