2011 will forever be known as the year that tablet devices became a mainstream phenomenon. So far, we’ve seen around 50 separate releases worldwide since MWC 2011 and CES 2011 and there’s still plenty more to come. But possibly one of the biggest of all these soon-to-be-announced tablets is Amazon’s Android-powered device – or devices.
Why? Simple: Amazon is a serious force to be reckoned with and could go on to cause a lot of problems for Google, Apple et al. For instance, not only does Amazon have some serious sway in the online shopping market, but it also has a whole host of services, such as Cloud Player, Amazon Apps and Kindle, that’ll match both Google’s and Apple’s retail and commercial offerings blow-for-blow.
In this respect, Amazon has a big advantage over pretty much every other Android tablet manufacturer out there, including Samsung, LG and Motorola. And all of this is before we even begin to look at the rumoured spec that Amazon’s tablet is reported to be packing. In short, Amazon could very well be the company that finally takes a bite out of Apple’s tablet market share.
Build
At present, very little is known about the Amazon tablet devices. Of course, there are rumours a plenty, but nothing currently concrete regarding build quality, materials or general design. Both LG and Samsung have been named as potential manufacturers – we’re hoping for Samsung – and there’s said to be two tablets on the way: a 7-inch one and a 10-inch one.
If we had to hazard a guess, we’d say that the devices will be thin, utilise Gorilla Glass displays, support microSD and, potentially, HDMI for mirroring and sharing videos to compatible devices. There’ll no doubt two cameras – front and back –, microSD support and some form of USB connectivity, most likely MicroUSB for charging and syncing.
Operating System
All of Amazon’s up-and-coming tablet devices will be powered by Google’s Android operating system. The only thing we’re not sure of is which iteration they’ll feature. At present, there’s no word on release dates, so it’s difficult to pinpoint which version of Android they’ll use.
That said, some reports have suggested a Q4 release, just in time for Christmas, and if this is the case the devices will no doubt be powered by Android Ice Cream Sandwich. If not, it’ll most likely be Android 3.1 – although, this will obviously be dependant on when Google rolls out the new platform.
Amazon already has an Android Apps Store in place, so users buying the Amazon tablet devices will be able to bypass the Android Market and, we’d assume, use one click buying on Amazon’s version via their Amazon accounts. This could be a serious blow to Google’s Android Market – and is no doubt something Google is already very aware of.
Services
In terms of services, Amazon has pretty much all the bases covered with its Kindle app, Cloud Player service and its newly launched Android Apps Market.
No other tablet manufacturer, bar Apple, of course, has this level of services at their disposal. In this sense, we expect Amazon to be a serious threat to Apple’s current domination of the tablet market place.
Amazon has the services, hardware and operating system to really make Apple’s life difficult. It’ll also introduce one-click app purchasing as well, which could very well deliver a deathblow to Google’s Android Market – especially if Amazon sweeten the deal for developers a little.
‘On the face of it,’ says Robert Bamforth, Quocirca Analyst, ‘Amazon could be more of a threat than other tablet companies as it can offer the complete proposition. Ultimately, this isn't about tablets - who has the biggest screen, best OS, fastest graphics, USB ports or even Flash support – it's about end-to-end user experience.’
Either way, it’s going to be a very interesting period. Change, could very well, be on the way.
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