Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Vodacom’s Maziv deal gets makeover ahead of crucial hearing

      18 July 2025

      Cut electricity prices for data centres: Andile Ngcaba

      18 July 2025

      Takealot taps Mr D to deliver toys, pet food and future growth

      18 July 2025

      ‘Oh, Ani!’: Elon’s edgy bot stirs ethical storm

      18 July 2025

      Trump U-turn on Nvidia spurs talk of grand bargain with China

      18 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Samsung’s bet on folding phones faces major test

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      OpenAI to launch web browser in direct challenge to Google Chrome

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025
    • In-depth

      The 1940s visionary who imagined the Information Age

      14 July 2025

      MultiChoice is working on a wholesale overhaul of DStv

      10 July 2025

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | Samsung unveils significant new safety feature for Galaxy A-series phones

      16 July 2025

      TCS+ | MVNX on the opportunities in South Africa’s booming MVNO market

      11 July 2025

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025
    • Opinion

      A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

      15 July 2025

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Craig Wilson » Amazon’s Fire tablet: making Cupertino sweat

    Amazon’s Fire tablet: making Cupertino sweat

    By Editor27 September 2011
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    [By Craig Wilson]

    On Wednesday, US online retail giant Amazon will launch its first tablet computer, the Google Android-powered device that technology site TechCrunch reckons will be called the Kindle Fire. With dozens of tablets in the market already, the obvious question is: why should we care? The reason pundits and punters alike are so excited can be summed up in one word: content.

    The Fire is likely to be a seven-inch device, stripped of things like cameras to keep costs down to possibly as low as US$250, or about half the price of the entry-level Apple iPad. Indeed, the Fire could prove to be the most significant challenger to the Apple iPad to date because of its price and the network of content Amazon will bring to bear.

    Amazon offers television shows, movies, music and books and that’s what makes its forthcoming tablet so exciting, and what makes most Android tablets so unsuccessful. The Android ecosystem is fragmented, while Apple’s is all-encompassing and tied closely into its content and application stores.

    The Fire is expected to run Amazon’s own take on Android, and include a custom app store. This could work in the company’s favour as one of the most frequent criticisms of the Android Market is how bloated it is with worthless apps and how much detritus there is to sift through compared to Apple’s more tightly controlled App Store.

    Though there are many who decry Apple’s interventionist approach to applications and laud the “openness” of Android, there’s no denying Apple provides a far cleaner, simpler experience that requires less separating of wheat from chaff. If Amazon can replicate this with its own content and carefully chosen apps it could entice swathes of new customers.

    With the rumoured $250 price tag, the Fire will also be much cheaper than any of the other major tablets in the market. It’s expected to go on sale in the second week in November in the US, just in time for the Christmas shopping rush. We don’t know when it’s coming to SA, but hopefully Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will shed some light on international launch plans on Wednesday.

    As Amazon has shown with its more basic Kindle e-book reader, it’s not the device that makes the money but the services it sells around it. That’s why the company can sell the Kindle so cheaply: just $139 for the entry-level version.

    Nintendo is applying the same model to its 3DS handheld game console, though the Japanese company arguably should have sold it at a loss from the outset, not after it realised consumers were less interested than it had hoped.

    The Kindle’s success is due only in part to the device itself. Sure, e-ink is great for bibliophiles, but for technophiles the Kindle is a very rudimentary and limited device. What keeps Kindle sales ticking over is the accompanying Kindle store and the thousands of books on offer that can be bought instantly.

    Amazon not only sells books, but also runs its own digital music store. Add to that the announcement last weekend of its deal with Fox to bring popular television and movie content to Amazon Prime subscribers — Prime is its preferential delivery and loyalty subscription programme — and suddenly the Fire looks like a hot proposition.

    Amazon Prime costs US subscribers $80/year, and apart from granting them unlimited streaming from Amazon’s now substantially bolstered movie and television series catalogues, it offers free two-day shipping and reduced costs on overnight shipping for other purchases from the Amazon store. For many, it’s a compelling proposition on its own.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon bundles Prime subscriptions with the Fire because, as the illicit drug trade has demonstrated, giving consumers the first taste free is a great way to keep them coming back for more.

    Amazon has had the content for the longest time. What it’s lacked is a tool to make accessing that content as easy as it is from Apple. Consumers will pay for convenience and variety and Amazon has variety in spades.

    The Fire looks set to turn up the heat in Cupertino, the site of Apple’s headquarters in California.

    • Craig Wilson is senior journalist at TechCentral
    • Subscribe to our free daily newsletter
    • Follow us on Twitter or on Facebook
    • Visit our sister website, SportsCentral (still in beta)


    Amazon Amazon Fire Amazon.com Apple Craig Wilson
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleTutani to head Icasa’s compliance committee
    Next Article Uncapped in SA is unsustainable, says Altech

    Related Posts

    Takealot taps Mr D to deliver toys, pet food and future growth

    18 July 2025

    Mental wellness at scale: how Mac fuels October Health’s mission

    15 July 2025

    Apple plans product blitz to reignite growth

    11 July 2025
    Company News

    Vertiv to acquire custom rack solutions manufacturer

    18 July 2025

    SA businesses embrace gen AI – but strategy and skills are lagging

    17 July 2025

    Ransomware in South Africa: the human factor behind the growing crisis

    16 July 2025
    Opinion

    A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

    15 July 2025

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.