Amazon readies the next generation Kindle Fire HD for its release date and finds itself playing from behind on multiple fronts. While it has widespread name recognition, the outgoing Kindle Fire just got blown out of the water by the new Nexus 7 in terms of the small budget Android tablet experience. And marketshare aside, the iPad mini is still broadly perceived as a more desirable small tablet experience than anything the Kindle lineup has to offer. That puts Amazon in the position of needing to one-up both Google and Apple in the perception department, while still needing to keep the Kindle Fire price tag cheap enough to retain its reputation as an uber-affordable tablet. But can it pull the trigger in time for the start of the holiday season?
One factor playing in Amazon’s favor is that it doesn’t have to turn a profit on the Kindle Fire, as it can make up the difference on the profits it makes from the sales of Kindle eBooks which it sells to Kindle Fire buyers . But if Amazon wants to offer a true seven inch competitor to the Nexus 7, it may have to raise its price closer to $ 229, which could undermine its efforts to offer a lineup which is perceived as populist in price. If Amazon is playing competitively, it needs to get its new Kindle Fire HD lineup to market before the November-ish release date of the Nexus 10.
Then again, various network usage studies reveal that the current crop of Kindle Fire tablets in the hands of users tend to see far less actual usage than that of competing tablets. So if Amazon is selling cheap tablets to people who aren’t using them for anything, it’s been a hollow victory which won’t result in repeat sales. So Amazon’s best move may be to focus on a quality competitor to the Nexus 7 and iPad mini, regardless of what it has to charge for it.
Phil covers tech for Stabley Times.
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