Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet Undercuts Competitors at $199
The brand new tablet from Amazon, the “Kindle Fire,” is said to be priced at $199 at retail.
Bloomberg reported the pricing and also stated that the tablet will feature a 7-inch display. The company has yet to officially reveal their new tablet, its features and the price, though. All these details and more are expected to be announced later today at Amazon's planned New York City press conference.
The "Kindle Fire" is being touted as a color version of the current Kindle e-reader.
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The device will have a 7-inch display, Wi-Fi (no 3G) and will run on Google’s Android software. However, it will not come with an embedded camera or microphone.
Rumors have also been circulating about the Kindle Fire coming with a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime, the retailer’s $79/year subscription service that gives users unlimited two-day shipping and streaming video access. With Amazon's new deal with Fox and magazine publishers, the content that is available to buyers of the new tablet will have several entertainment and streaming service options.
Due to Amazon's decision to create apps on other devices such as the iPad and Android phones, people will be able to read their books on any similar device. They can still enjoy their e-books through the Kindle library.
TechCrunch reported that the “kindlefire” subdomain sends browsers to the Kindle store. This may signal Amazon's impending release and sale of the Kindle Fire tablet. Amazon previously registered the domain name"kindlewave" in late August, but nothing came of this supposed Kindle successor. Amazon has reportedly purchased the domain name of "kindlefire", which leads some to further believe in all the new tablet's rumors.
Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps believes Amazon can sell 3 million to 5 million tablets in the fourth quarter.
Janney Capital Markets analyst Shawn Milne expects Amazon to sell 2 million to 3 million units before a "beefed up" version with a larger screen likely becomes available in the first quarter.
Several websites will be on hand for Amazon's event today and live blog the details as they come.
