As expected the Kindle tablet will run Android, but what is more interesting is that it will look nothing like the Android we currently see. Instead it os more a fork of Gingerbread to provide very close tie-ins with Amazon’s books, music and film digital stores, as well as Amazon’s Android Marketplace. It will, in essence, become AmazonOS – a fully integrated part of Amazon’s own ecosystem.
Personally I’m a little sad that the 10″ model will be delayed until Amazon can gauge the market reaction to its 7″ model, but from a business perspective it makes perfect sense. The 7″ model is more compact, lighter, and notably cheaper than any of the leading 10″ tablets on the market today – it is a step up from people who want a reading device, but also want to be able to play movies, listen to music, browse the web or use email. It isn’t supposed to be an all-singing all-dancing direct iPad competitor – it is more asking the question of consumer what they are actually buying an iPad for. For travel, sitting on the sofa browsing the web, or reading in bed – the Amazon Kindle is smaller, lighter, and cheaper than the iPad. If you want a powerful device that has hundreds of thousands of apps and games, with a bigger screen and add-ons like a camera – then the iPad is for you.
Yes the Kindle tablet will galvanise much of the current Kindle market, but I would imagine they will start stealing a good portion of the iPad’s 80% market share soon too. Apple created a market for the iPad from nothing, and no manufacturer has managed to make a dent there so far, but Amazon also created an e-reader market from no-where and now will have created a half-way house between the two.