Amazon's Android tablet's rumored as ad-supported Kindle 3G launches

By Eric Brown
2011-07-14

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Amazon plans to release a nine-inch Android tablet in October, and will introduce two new Kindle models in the third quarter, including its first touchscreen model, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, the company has begun selling an ad-supported, AT&T-sponsored version of the Kindle 3G e-reader for $139.

The Wall Street Journal reports an Amazon Android tablet is on for an October release. The tablet will have a nine-inch screen, but lacks a camera, says the story, which offered no more technical details.

Design and production of the initial tablet has been outsourced, with the manufacturing duties going to an Asian manufacturer, says the story. A second Android tablet to be released in the future will be designed in-house, according to one of the Journal's sources.

Amazon will also release two updated versions of the Kindle e-reader in the third quarter, says the story. One of the models is said to be the first to offer a touchscreen.

The Journal report would seem to suggest that Amazon will not brand its upcoming Android tablets with the well-known Kindle name, but will keep the Kindle a separate product category. By comparison, Barnes & Noble chose to name its first color e-reader/Android tablet the Nook Color (pictured), following in the tradition of its lower-cost, monochrome Nook e-reader.

The story notes that an Amazon Android tablet could run the risk of eating into Kindle sales, however, since they would both presumably serve up the same Amazon content and services.

"The introduction of a tablet poses a conundrum for Amazon on how to keep from cannibalizing sales of its popular Kindle," write the WSJ's Stu Woo and Yukari Iwatani Kane. "Amazon has long said the Kindle is its best-selling device, though it has declined to disclose sales."

Rumors about an upcoming Amazon Android tablet have been building throughout the year. Last month Digitimes reported that Amazon hopes to sell four million Android tablets in 2011 and could begin selling multiple models in August or September. The tablets will feature Texas Instruments processors, presumably an OMAP4 system on chip (SoC), and offer touchscreens from Wintek and LCD driver ICs from ILI Technology, said the story.

As had been previously tipped by DigiTimes, Quanta Computer will assemble the tablets, said the June report. Its report said that the Amazon tablet would use Fringe Field Switching display technology from E Ink -- presumably a version of E Ink's Triton color e-reader display.

Earlier Amazon tablet rumors suggested that Samsung would be the manufacturer of the Amazon tablet.

4G Kindle gets a cheaper, add-supported version

Amazon announced the availability of an ad-supported version of its Linux-based, $189 Kindle 3G e-reader, for $139. The low price is partially subsidized by corporate sponsor AT&T, which supplies the Kindle 3G with its free cellular service.

Amazon offers a similarly six-inch Wi-Fi only version for the same $139 price, as well as an ad-supported version for $114. In addition, the company sells its 9.7-inch, 3G-only Kindle DX for $379.

The "Kindle 3G with Special Offers" (pictured) is physically identical to the revised version of the Kindle 3G released last summer. However, it displays sponsored screensavers from early sponsors including Buick, Chase, Olay, and Visa, says Amazon.

This third-generation Kindle design features a six-inch E Ink screen with 50 percent better contrast than the previous Kindle, as well as a body that’s 21 percent smaller and 15 percent lighter. Advertised battery life of up to one month, and the Kindle 3G provides 4GB (3GB usable) flash memory, or double the storage capacity as the earlier model. The product is available in both white and graphite-gray.

As noted by Nicholas Kolakowski in our sister publication eWEEK, the Wi-Fi version of the Kindle with Special Offers has a prominent position on the retailer's bestseller list, suggesting that "people are willing to sit through ads in exchange for a lower price."

In fact, all the Kindles have continued to perform surprisingly well, despite growing competition from other e-readers like the Barnes & Noble Nook, as well as from the ebook-enabled iPad and numerous Android tablets. In large part, this is due to steep price cuts. Even the non-advertising models from Amazon and B&N are partially subsidized by revenue received from ebook sales.

Stated Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, "A big thank you to AT&T for helping to make the new $139 price possible."

Availability

The Kindle 3G with Special Offers is now available for $139. More information and direct sales may be found at Amazon.com's "all-new" Kindle 3G page.

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