Amazon Wants Apple but Google is in the Way!
John is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is one company I like that brings new products to the table and creates various revenue streams to continue to prosper and grow. I believe it has its sights on taking Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) market away, but other competition continues to develop. Take a look at what Amazon is planning and what it is up against.
Amazon Wants Apple Bad!
Amazon is very healthy, and one of the qualities that make it so exciting is its constant stream of new products and/or updates. It is again planning to battle Apple in a tablet war. It is rumored that three types of Kindle Fires will be released this fall:
- Amazon will kick off its tablet assault with a low-cost upgrade that features a 1,024×600 display. Similar to the original Kindle Fire, this tablet will not contain a camera.
- Another version of the Kindle Fire 2 will feature a camera, as well as a 1,280×800 display.
- In September, Amazon will begin producing a third version of the tablet that mirrors the camera/high-res model but also supports 4G
The Kindle Fire is a popular little tablet! It is the most popular Android tablet among the American public right now, and it only took four months to get there. Statistically it owns 54.4% of the Android tablet market, while another well known name, the Samsung Galaxy family, can only claim 15.4%. And the Kindle Fire continues to attract more and more customers with its host of features and affordable price.
Enter the Google $200 Problem
While Amazon is fired up to steal iPad business, another tablet is staking claim to new territory, and it may be a hindrance to Amazon’s plans. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is entering the space with a $200 iPad-killer that might force Amazon to jump into the market a bit earlier than it planned to. Google’s new $199 tablet will be called the Nexus 7 and will feature a 1280×800 display, a Tegra 3 processor from NVIDIA, and a shiny new interface called Android 4.1, AKA Jelly Bean. On the lower end, it is not expected to be something that would even threaten Apple, but it could be a hindrance to Amazon if it catches on.
Google's announcement could be a real challenge not only to Amazon but also to the new “Surface” tablet. Generally speaking, high end customers look to the iPad, and more fiscally conservative clients chose the Kindle Fire. Is the “Nexus 7” a threat because of its price? In a way yes, but its hardware almost gives it a “high-end” experience that is closer to the iPad than anything else right now. If it is liked, it will draw the Android crown away from the Kindle Fire and Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Surface. Depending how the cards play out this fall, Google could be the big player in the tablet market outside of Apple.
Wow Amazon, Really? Your Own Android Smartphone?
Is Amazon going to build a top tier, Android-powered smartphone to add to its tablet market? It is a good possibility considering it is so lucrative. If they don’t go “SIM free” they will have to figure out whose network to use. Presently, the “Fire” uses digital content from Amazon—there is no reason a phone could not do the same thing. Could they do it? Well if it is one thing they do well, it's shipping product to clients; so yes, if they do create a phone, rolling it out won’t be the hard part. Amazon is working with the Chinese company Foxconn to produce the device, while it is also acquiring wireless technology.
Smartphones are different than tablets like the Kindle Fire; they are expected to be more complicated and, well—smart! It will be interesting to see what Amazon comes out with and how it will compare to the Kindle tablets.
The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. johnmylant has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
