Amazon, the online retail giant, plans to launch a range of tablet PCs for about half the current price of Apple’s iPad, which is ruling the roost in the segment.
According to PC Mag report, the 7 inch Amazon tablet (code named Coyote) will be priced at $350 (about Rs 16,000); whereas the 10 inch tablet (called Hollywood) will cost $450 (about Rs 20,000). The models with higher storage are expected to be more expensive.
On the other hand, the Apple iPad1 is priced at a whopping Rs 27, 900 in the Indian market.
Pricing is in any case important for Amazon if it is serious about challenging Apple, and it does seem to be well on its way to doing so. The report is not clear about whether, at $450, the tablet will include a quad core Processor or not.
If its competitors do not reduce their prices substantially, Amazon, in all probability, will have the most powerful tablet in the market at the cheapest price. Both iPad1 and iPad2 have a single core processor for about twice the price.
It seems that Amazon is determined to become a serious player in the tablet market and selling inexpensive tablets is a sure shot way of becoming one. The company already has a cloud music service and its App store is also in place, so the only thing missing is a tablet.