The Amazon Android Tablet I'd Buy

http://jwikert.typepad.com/the_average_joe/2011/03/why-we-need-an-amazon-android-tablet.html

by davidw • 15 years ago

29 10 15 years ago

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davidw2• 15 years ago

I like the idea a lot, but I'm not sure the fate of the Kindle development program bodes very well: it still isn't out after how long?

mcburton• 15 years ago

Barnes and Noble has indicated they are launching an Android App store of their own [1]. Although, judging by that discussion, I think they see the opportunity they've created with the NookColor but they are still trying to figure out how to take full advantage and win developer's trust.

[1]http://connect.nookdeveloper.com/t5/General-Discussion/Nook-...

davidw2• 15 years ago

I think Amazon has more global reach than Barnes and Noble does. Does B&N even exist outside the US and Canada?

Even Amazon isn't fantastic in Europe, but at least they are here and active.

jordanroher• 15 years ago

It's a brilliant idea, and makes sense in context of Amazon setting up their own Android store. Of course, Amazon's Android store policies are fairly heavy-handed when compared to Google's, but if they launched their own tablet/phone it would make perfect sense. It solves the problem of why Android phone manufacturers don't really need to update their phones firmware: they're not getting a cut of the software revenues like Apple does.

But if Amazon had their own device, running their own store, hopefully not excluding the default store, they would have an incentive to keep it up to date with the latest Android OS. I would also imagine Amazon could do something worthwhile in their Android mods to improve usability, given that their entire business revolves around superior customer service.

An Amazon tablet could be gangbusters, and a way for Amazon to keep their Kindle owners from jumping ship to Apple's platform.

stuartjmoore• 15 years ago

A "Kindle Color" would hurt the Kindle brand. Whenever I tell someone I have a Nook, they respond with "Oh, the color e-reader?" They don't even know an e-ink Nook exists.

Kindle == e-ink. Anything Amazon Tablet related should stay away from Kindle; closer to the movies and TV on demand.

ZeroGravitas• 15 years ago

They could use the Pixel Qi screen and have something that is good for reading/ really long battery life but can also do video, color when necessary.

http://pixelqi.com/blog1/2011/01/10/ces-2011-from-a-pixel-qi...

I assumed this was what the article was talking about, instead it's just suggesting a Nook Color without needing the community supported software to access all the full functionality (which would be nice, but not amazing).

ZTE have already announced such a tablet, so Amazon could just use them as OEM if they've not already got something cooking in their labs.

http://pixelqi.com/blog1/2011/02/14/zte-introduces-7%e2%80%9...

zdean• 15 years ago

of course nothing would stop them from having a Kindle and then a separate, full-featured tablet. As the Kindle moves towards a price point of $0 (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2266193), it creates room for a premium product.

jimktrains2• 15 years ago

I just want an 14" (8.5"x11") or A4 eink reader with a digitizer:-\

shareme• 15 years ago

I was being recruited by Amazon quite heavily during past 6 months due to my android Developer skills..

Its a strong possibility that Amazon will in fact launch an Android Tablet product.

ChuckMcM• 15 years ago

I think Amazon has a better understanding of the digital content space than Apple does, it shows in the way the market Kindle, MP3s, and now video with their rental channel.

That being said, if they did do an Android based tablet, the smart thing (but the hard thing) to do would be to kick Google to the curb.

The one thing that has differentiated the iPad from the TouchBook or the original Microsoft Tablets has been application speed and application focus.

If you look back in history you will find the Apple Newton Message Pad, another "magical and revolutionary" device, which had, at its core, a tightly written OS and a poorly implemented handwriting recognition algorithm. If you look further you will see that it had its ass handed to it by an upstart company called Palm which created a device which capitalized on two key design concepts : focused and fast.

The Palm Pilot was focused on the things you needed, calendar, address book, short notes. And it was fast, fast, fast. Turn it on and Bam! ready to go. Further it lasted plenty long before needing new batteries or a charge.

Apple took that lesson to heart.

If you look at failures in the tablet space which preceded the iPad they were all slow, had poor run time, didn't know what they wanted to be, and clumsy to use, especially without a stylus. Apple attacked not one, but all of those problems at the same time.

So back to Google. Google doesn't know what it wants because its a hydra of competing ideas. Now that Google is in the "product" space that churn becomes visible to folks outside the candy factory.

What is the best tablet solution ? If you said Chrome as a front end to a high performance kernel, you would find that a third of the internal folks at Google would agree with you, if you said "A really big phone" then the Android team would congratulate on how clearly you saw this space, if you said more dedicated device where OS branding is irrelevant, well there would be supporters for that too. It's healthy to have internal debate, it's toxic when you cannot move past it.

So can you build with Android and tell Google to take a flying leap at a rolling donut? Sure, but they won't license you the Google Apps then now will they? This is clearly Google's right and they have grand visions.

But it takes a special kind of set of conditions for a company like Google to see something that is outside their ability to imagine, I know that those conditions don't exist. And to date they haven't shown any ability to imagine and iPad killer, so I don't look to them for an answer there.

An iPad rival will arise, eventually, but its going to take someone other than Google to do it. It will be interesting to see what WebOS brings to the tablet market, and it will be interesting to see what the next generation of entrepreneurial folks push in this space. There is also the distinct possibility that Apple can push folks to an alternative with extortionate pricing and intolerable terms.

The Amazon Android Tablet I'd Buy

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