Amazon's Kindle Fire HD
30/07/2013 08:34
Amazon's Kindle Fire HD upcoming specs may validate business model
Amazon is reportedly prepping its next batch of Kindle Fire HD tablets and the tech ecosystem is again drooling over specs for the money. The real win for Amazon is that it can offer strong specs at a good price because it'll make plenty of money off you elsewhere.
BGR reports its latest tidbits on Amazon's Kindle Fire HD tablets, which may launch in September. The key takeaways from the report, which could barely contain its glee:
- The 7-inch Kindle Fire HD tablet will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chip, which is top of the line.
- Pricing will be roughly in the current ballpark.
- More RAM and storage options.
- The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD will have a 2,560 x 1,600-pixel high-definition display and front and rear cameras.
kindlefirehdFall is almost here so it must be time to start talking new Kindles.
BGR is betting that Amazon can stand out with its tablets since Google's Nexus 7 is nice, but can't hold your attention for too long. Apple's iPad mini may get an incremental upgrade. And Samsung's tablet line up is a yawner.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway here is that Amazon's business model for tablets may be superior to its rivals. First, Amazon can subsidize the hardware. Then, Amazon turns the Kindle into a shopping kiosk on the go. And Amazon will sell some Prime subscriptions too along with movies and e-books.
The only other company that can play the cloud and services game as well as Amazon is probably Google. Then again, Google isn't up to par on commerce and content selection. Apple has the hardware and content, but has to prove itself on the cloud services front.
In any case, should subsidized hardware win out in the tablet wars---and it's already looking that way---Amazon's army of Kindle Fire devices are going to be in good shape.