Amazon Announcement tomorrow

[harrybarracuda]

Speculation is that it will be a forked Android tablet and called the Kindle Fire.

So, word on the street is that Amazon's got an Android-based tablet in the works that looks like a PlayBook and will probably be called the Kindle Fire. But, until now, we didn't know what kind of content would be available on this new Kindle with a color screen. According to All Things D, Bezos' baby has been blessed by Hearst, Conde Nast and Meredith publishers in time for the slate's unveiling later this week -- giving users access to magazines ranging from GQ and Cosmopolitan to Car and Driver and Wired. Evidently, Amazon's taking around a 30 percent cut (not unlike the competition in Cupertino) of slate-based subscriptions, with small variations depending upon the magazine. With these latest leaked tidbits, we're beginning to wonder what details are left for Amazon to reveal on Wednesday -- a little mystery adds to the anticipation, after all.

and

No one will care that Amazon's Kindle tablet is a RIM PlayBook

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes | September 27, 2011, 5:29am PDT
Summary: The regular Joe buying an Amazon tablet won’t know and won’t care that the tablet is based on RIM’s PlayBook.
A lot of buzz on the blogosphere today about Amazon’s Kindle tablet - which will allegedly be called ‘Fire’ - actually being a revamped RIM PlayBook. As interesting as it is that Amazon’s long-rumored, long-awaited tablet will essentially be a clone of the irrelevant PlayBook, the truth is that the buying masses won’t care.
Why is the Kindle tablet a clone of the PlayBook? Because it is been designed and built by original device manufacturer (ODM) Quanta, the same company that built the PlayBook, rather than by Amazon’s Kindle design and dev team Lab 126.
The Kindle tablet/Fire won’t be an exact clone of the PlayBook. For one thing, it has to be cheaper as it’s expected to sell for $250. So it’s will feature a slower processor, two-finger multitouch screen and have no cameras. But the PlayBook didn’t fail because of the hardware, the PlayBook failed because it didn’t have the ecosystem to support it … and Amazon’s not going to make the same mistake.
First, Amazon is going with Android as the OS. Well, not exactly Android, but a custom version believed to be based on Android 2.1 (no, not the 2.3 version specifically aimed at tablets). And it’s with this custom OS that will be Amazon’s strong point. Amazon will turn its tablet (wherever it ends up being called) into a one-stop-shop for all things Amazon. The company doesn’t have to make a killing on the hardware because it can sit back and make money each time a customer uses the tablet to buy something from Amazon. Amazon’s power is that it has so much content - ebooks, music, video, an Android app store, a games and software downloads service, cloud services and audiobooks - that it can pipe to the tablet, it can’t help but make money from this endeavor. Problem is, other makers will have to slash their wrists in order to be able to compete.
The Kindle tablet ain’t no iPad killer - it’s not meant to be - but the $250 tablet could very well slaughter the Android tablet market. Watch out, after Amazon drops this bombshell I expect that there will be a lot of changes ahead. Expect price drops and for some makers to reduce, if not even pull out completely, from the Android tablet market.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Amazon press event, when we’ll likely learn a lot more about the tablet.

[harrybarracuda]

SEATTLE, WA. (Top40 Charts/ Amazon) Amazon.com today announced a licensing agreement with FOX that will allow Amazon Prime members to instantly stream a broad selection of popular movies and TV shows from the FOX library. This deal will bring the total number of Prime instant videos to more than 11,000 movies and TV shows later this fall. FOX titles available to Prime members will include contemporary movies such as, 'Speed,' 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' 'Doctor Dolittle,' 'Last of the Mohicans,' and 'Office Space,' as well as classics like 'The Longest Day,' 'All About Eve,' '9 to 5,' and 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.' FOX also brings to Prime members a selection of popular TV series including '24,' 'The X-Files,' 'NYPD Blue,' 'Arrested Development,' 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' 'Ally McBeal,' and newly available on digital video, 'The Wonder Years.'

[harrybarracuda]

The rumour mill is awash with Amazon tablet fever, with more details regarding the Amazon Kindle Fire dropping by the minute. The latest revelations include a mixture of good and bad news, and intrigue at the same time.

Firstly, there's the build quality. This is bad news by the way. Not because it apparently looks just like the BlackBerry PlayBook - there's nowt wrong with the aesthetics of RIM's slate - but because reports suggest it looks the same because Amazon's Kindle group, Lab 126, turned to ODM Quanta (contributors to the PlayBook) as a shortcut to make sure the 7-incher hits the shops before Christmas this year.

And this means that the tablet is more of a "stopgap" and, as a result, the device is "supposed to be pretty poor". Add to this that the OS on board is Android 2.1, yep - Eclair, and we're not off to a very good start.

But don't fret too much as TechCrunch's MG Siegler, who has played with the tab remember, states that "it's better than the PlayBook because the software is better and, more importantly, the content available is much better".

The software Amazon has put over the top is apparently nothing like Android and has the Amazon Appstore integrated at every step. So Amazon 2.1 isn't too big of a deal then. There's no email client as standard though, however you will be able to download one.

As for content, well, we all knew this would be Amazon's trump card. Add the fact that it has just signed a mega deal with Fox to the equation and you're looking at an almost unrivalled wealth of digital content. Reports also state that the Fire will have the backing of at least three of the big magazine publishers: Hearst, Conde Nast and Meredith, with Time Warner to come later in the year.

"You've got beauty and design with Apple, which we love," said one unnamed publisher who has an Amazon deal. "But with Amazon you have marketing, and ease of use. We're very optimistic.

Now the price. Good and bad news again. Good news first, and it's going to be cheap. Bad news - maybe not as cheap as originally touted. We're looking at a US price of $300, rather than $250. However, the $300 may well include Amazon Prime membership and there may be a $250 version minus the subscription.

Still, either price is still cheap enough to make Amazon a major player in the tablet game this Christmas. Especially for a device that looks like bridging the gap between its Kindle ebook readers and the slate experience.

If you've not jumped into the tablet pool yet, Amazon will be hoping it has the device to temp you. It may not be an iPad killer, but it certainly has Barnes & Noble's Nook range in its sights.

[FailSafe]

Hmmm... I really don't need this thing, but I love my Kindle, and I'd like to have a color version (for magazines)...

You go buy one first, Harry, and tell me how you like it.

[harrybarracuda]

Hmmm... I really don't need this thing, but I love my Kindle, and I'd like to have a color version (for magazines)...

You go buy one first, Harry, and tell me how you like it.

Bit of a fucker actually - just bought yet another Kindle.

Still, I suppose it can double up as a Christmas present for someone.

[harrybarracuda]

Apparently it looks a lot like the Playbook - because it's made by the same company. Do you think Amazon have done this because it cuts the design and manufacturing costs significantly?

After all, they must have warehouses full of Playbooks that no-one wanted.

[FailSafe]

When is it supposed to go on sale? There's nothing on their retail site regarding pre-ordering.

[harrybarracuda]

When is it supposed to go on sale? There's nothing on their retail site regarding pre-ordering.

Probably because they haven't announced it yet, they're still in bed.



What's EDT? GMT-5?

[harrybarracuda]

Link to Live Blog:

Live Blog: Amazon's Kindle Tablet Press Conference Wed. 10 am ET | PCWorld

[harrybarracuda]

Amazon Kindle Fire 2 set for January 2012 release?

Retailer firing on all cylinders

Tablets News

By Kate Solomon
5 minutes ago





Kindle Fire - might be worth holding fire










Amazon may be yet to announce its tablet product, the Amazon Kindle Fire, but already the rumour mill has started cranking out tit bits about its successor and a possible release date of January 2012.
A source talking to Gdgt has claimed that the second generation Kindle Tablet will be released in the new year, with today's announcement merely a stop-gap product to mop up all those early-adopting Christmas shoppers.
The first tablet is set to be a white-labelled device taken directly from a third-party manufacturer, whereas the Kindle Fire 2 "seems to be the device Amazon really believes in," according to Gdgt guru Ryan Block.
Fire in the hole

This messed up cycle is all down to a delay to the tablet, apparently; the second version of the Fire was always intended to land in early 2012, but the first version should have been out earlier this year.
Although it'll be really annoying for Fire 1 buyers if a quick upgrade comes to pass, but it won't be entirely surprising if Amazon's Kindle track record is anything to go by – new generations of the ereader have always followed hot on the heels of their predecessors.
With Amazon's tablet announcement scheduled for later on today, we'll be one step closer to figuring out what's going on:

tune in at 3pm UK time for the latest news.

[FailSafe]

Not until January? I have a friend coming from the States in October and I thought about asking him to bring me one- probably just as well.

[harrybarracuda]

Not until January? I have a friend coming from the States in October and I thought about asking him to bring me one- probably just as well.

Read it again

[FailSafe]

Ah- January will be the 2nd gen model- it will probably be worth waiting for if the first one will be a warmed-over Kindle.

[harrybarracuda]

Ah- January will be the 2nd gen model- it will probably be worth waiting for if the first one will be a warmed-over Kindle.

That of course is IF that rumour is true.

[FailSafe]

Rumors are all we've got at the moment...

For $300 it will be hard not to pull the trigger on it- being able to get magazines in color on a Kindle would be terrific.

[harrybarracuda]

Rumors are all we've got at the moment...

For $300 it will be hard not to pull the trigger on it- being able to get magazines in color on a Kindle would be terrific.

Well there seem to be plenty of stories about today's announcement, but I can't seen that Fire 2 mentioned anywhere else (that's assuming this is the name as well!).

We'll know in about 90 minutes, if they don't waffle on.

[harrybarracuda]

Live Blog of the Press conference here

[harrybarracuda]

Live: Bloomberg just reports pricing at $199 for Fire

[harrybarracuda]

[harrybarracuda]

[FailSafe]

The basic Kindle is $140- I don't expect too much for $200 other than color capability.

[blue]

can they make colour e-ink ?

[harrybarracuda]

$79 e-ink kindles reported by Bloomberg

[FailSafe]

Probably not- it looks back-lit- Amazon will set it up for video streaming (their next big thing) but I won't be surprised if the service isn't available in LOS (probably only North America and the UK).

[harrybarracuda]

Here it is...Kindle Touch. Infrared touch like Nook Touch.