Amazon Set to Compete Against the iPad

Cult of Mac reported recently that Jeff Bezos told Consumer Reports that there will be news coming about an Amazon branded "multipurpose tablet device".


Amazon already has the Kindle hardware eBook reader.


At the moment, Android tablets aren't a big threat to Apple. At the moment. Feature-wise, they are as good or superior. Where they suffer is that they don't have a library built over the past year of "HD" tablet optimized apps. That one year head start and a rabidly loyal fan base is what is keeping Apple with 80% of the tablet market.

My guess is that Android tablets will be a much bigger threat to the iPad a year from now. After all, most of the name-brand Android tablets are already on a par with the new iPad 2 as far as CPU, graphics, memory, camera and price are concerned. Add in things like USB ports, memory card support, spare battery capability, etc. and they are actually ahead of Apple.

Now, give the developers a year to write tablet optimized applications and all bets are off.

After all, just a year or so ago, Steve Jobs was smirking about how the Apple iPhone OWNED the smart phone market and that Android wasn't a threat. Mr. Jobs no longer says that. Multiple sources determined that Android now has about 30% of the smartphone market. Gartner and other industry forecasters predict a 50% market share next year.

So, if Android tablets follow the same path, the iPad is in for a rough time.

If the marketing powerhouse, Amazon.com, releases their own tablet, there is a VERY good chance that they will leap to the forefront of Android tablet sales and challenge Apple on their own turf.

Amazon has the marketing muscle, content connections and data infrastructure to go toe-to-toe with Apple and score a TKO.

p.s. Wiping off my crystal ball, here's a prediction. With the loss of being the exclusive USA iPhone carrier, watch for AT&T to partner with Amazon as the exclusive data network for the Amazon tablet. OK, that was obvious, since the Kindle's Whispernet is carried by AT&T.

So... look for the Amazon Android 4G phone on AT&T as well.