Amazon Plans Tablet Computer By October
Amazon.com Inc. plans to introduce a tablet computer before October, said people familiar with the matter, in a move that will heighten the online retailer's rivalry with Apple Inc. — The Seattle-based company will also release two updated versions …
Context & Ripple Effects
Amazon has been telegraphing this move for months: when Jeff Bezos was asked directly about a tablet in May 2011 he offered only 'stay tuned,' and the WSJ now reports people familiar with the matter expect a device before October, alongside two updated versions of existing products. Syndicated pickups show the supply chain already moving — DigiTimes reports Foxconn has landed 10.1-inch tablet orders from Amazon, while paidContent frames it as a fall lineup of a tablet plus refreshed Kindles.
The competitive frame matters because this is not Amazon entering a vacuum. Apple defined the category after its own long-rumored tablet launch in 2009–10, and the WSJ explicitly says the entry will heighten Amazon's rivalry with Apple. TechCrunch's take at the time cut differently: the device poses little threat to Apple but a large one to Google, since an Amazon-branded tablet would compete for the same Android-tablet shelf space.
First-order effects
- Apple faces its first tablet rival with Amazon's direct-to-consumer distribution, media store, and customer base behind a device expected before October.
- Foxconn gains a new marquee 10.1-inch tablet account per DigiTimes' reporting, and Amazon's existing e-reader line gets two refreshed models to ride the same holiday window.
Second-order effects
- Google's Android tablet partners would find themselves undercut by a fellow Android-based entrant that can price hardware near cost to sell content through it — the dynamic TechCrunch flagged as the bigger threat.
- Barnes & Noble and other e-reader makers face a two-front problem if Amazon bundles a full-color tablet and updated Kindles into one fall push.
Third-order effects
- If Amazon prices the tablet as a content funnel rather than a profit center, tablets bifurcate into premium ecosystem devices and retailer-subsidized consumption slates — pressuring every vendor that sells hardware without a media storefront attached.
The trend: Consumer tablets are splitting between Apple's integrated premium model and content retailers using cheap hardware as a storefront, with Amazon positioned to force that split in late 2011.