Kindle Fire to Burn a Hole Through Apple’s Stock

16 Replies

I’d love to know your thoughts on this device and what it might do to Apple’s stock. Leave your thoughts in the comments. I can see this going a few different ways for Apple but right off the bat, a significantly cheaper device with similar functions makes me curious.

More on this later but holy cow.

Amazon Kindle Fire with its beautiful 7 inch touch screen

  • Wifi only, no 3G
  • 7 inch full color, touch screen
  • Angry Birds (and a ton of other applications)
  • Full screen video
  • Kindle books in color
  • Dual core processor (fast)
  • Free cloud storage of purchases
  • Free month of Amazon Prime (to convince users to buy for the streaming video)
  • 17 million songs
  • 1 million books
  • 100,000 streaming videos
  • $199

Yes the Kindle Fire lacks 3G, has a smaller screen and doesn’t do nearly as much as the iPad when it comes to applications, cameras etc. However, for the price of two Kindle Fires and $100 in books, applications, music and video, you could get one iPad.

After checking those out, especially the price at $199, I think you’ll agree, this is going to hit Apple pretty hard. This will be coming out November 15, just in time for Christmas shopping and Black Friday sales. There will (presumably) be no new iPad for this Christmas and the cheapest iPad 2 comes in at $499, a full $300 more than the Amazon Kindle Fire.

What will be really interesting is what Barnes and Noble comes out with next. They have had the Nook Color for a while now. In my opinion, it was the first serious color eBook and on top of that, was running Android. Many people hacked the Nook to make it into a cheap and somewhat effective tablet. This new reader from Amazon seems to strike at the Nook even more so than the iPad.

I love the iPad, I live for my iPad but this has me thinking not about switching but maybe supplementing and seeing just how far this much cheaper, lighter and more durable device will get me. Maybe I don’t need an iPad…

Related articles

Oh, I failed to mention that Amazon also announced a new Kindle starting at $79 and a touch screen, grayscale Kindle Touch starting at $99. These are both game changers. The $79 Kindle does not come with 3G but a $149 Kindle Touch does. The lifetime 3G service has been one of the factors that always kept the Kindle outselling the competition.

23 comments
  Livefyre
Newest | Oldest
Livefyre
Livefyre

@richmackey Thanks for the head's up on that; work firewall is definitely possible. We'll have a dev check it out just in case! cc @justex07

richmackey
richmackey

Great post - my take is that this is a killer device and will really appeal to those who have never purchsed/used an iPad or simply can't afford one. I have a friend in that category. He has wanted an iPad forever but just can't fork over the $$. He has this on pre-order already. For me, this isn't in my consideration set. I have my iPad. I use it immensely and it's really working the space between "laptop replacement" (on short trips) and media consumption device. I don't see the Fire serving the first purpose at all. That said, this will likely make a small dent in iPad sales (taking the low end of the market) and will kill any other Android tablet fast. If I weren't entrenched with iPad and hadn't used a tablet, I'd do this in a heartbeat. These days I get more content from Amazon than Apple anyway. But that's not the case. Apple had first mover advantage. They practically invented the category. They'll continue to hold considerable market share in spite of (finally) having a decent competitor.

fashion_kills
fashion_kills

@justex07 I read that article too! What is your take on that?

justex07
justex07

@fashion_kills well I wrote the article haha so I think you know my thoughts :-P It's gonna put Apple on alert, at least for a little while.

belaszekely
belaszekely

I am introducing a really inexpensive and well performing wheelbarrow. I wonder if Chevy's Sierra truck will loose any sales because of it. Come on if you not going to have the iPad functionality why do you think that it will effect iPad sales. There are already many low priced Android tablets on the market and no impact on iPad sales. People don't buy pad computing devices just read watch movies and listen to music. As far as the could base browsing is concerned you are tethered to Wi-Fi and that is not good. I want more freedom. By the way I love the Kindle it is great.

justex07
justex07

@belaszekely Thanks for the comment. Extending your analogy... Hyundai releases a beautiful, luxurious sedan that costs 1/2 of the competition. No, it does have the horse power, the distinctive styling or heritage of the Lexus or Acura it competes with but it does good enough. It has enough power, it has enough in the way or amenities and gets you from point A to point B with just as much legal speed and safety. But the Hyundai is outselling the previous top cars in America. It's cheaper, it has a better warranty and people are OK with "settling" for a lesser known or lower on the totem pole brand to save a huge chunk of change. The Kindle Fire is the Hyundai, the iPad the Acura or Lexus. If you are someone looking for an eReader but don't or can't be without a video player, an email application and games, what would you choose? The $500 version or the $200 version? If you are someone who travels a lot, do you want something that is that much bigger, that much heavier and that much more expensive to replace if it is dropped, stolen, etc? I could definitely be wrong here but aren't there more WiFi only iPads out in the wild than 3G iPads? If I am remembering correctly, it seems that requiring 3G isn't so much a deal anymore. More and more phones are being used as a data tethering device at a fraction of the cost of paying $25/m for data on an iPad. Even then, most people use around 250 MB to 2 GB of data on their 3G iPads each month. That's not a lot. I have a 3G iPad and the only time I ever use the 3G is really when I'm at an airport. Of course, nowadays, many airports are turning on free WiFi. My home airport, SFO, provides great, free WiFi, much faster than AT&T's 3G. If the iPad was a 4G LTE device, maybe I could see the data service being more relevant (streaming HD movies etc) but it isn't. I only purchased the 3G version of the iPad 1 and iPad 2 because I wanted the GPS chip. Bottom line, it's cheap. It's really cheap. It's cheaper than what everyone else thought cheap would be ($250). For the people who KNEW they wanted an iPad, this doesn't change much but to the majority of people who are looking for an affordable tablet computer, eBook reader, this is the device I would recommend to them. And I'm a HUGE Apple fan! Thanks again for your comment.

justex07
justex07

joubiku You're not kidding. That $79 price tag makes this a no-brainer. You will make up the savings in the cost of books within your first few purchases.

Livefyre
Livefyre

@richmackey Thanks for the head's up on that; work firewall is definitely possible. We'll have a dev check it out just in case! cc @justex07

Livefyre
Livefyre

@richmackey Thanks for the head's up on that; work firewall is definitely possible. We'll have a dev check it out just in case! cc @justex07

richmackey
richmackey

Great post - my take is that this is a killer device and will really appeal to those who have never purchsed/used an iPad or simply can't afford one. I have a friend in that category. He has wanted an iPad forever but just can't fork over the $$. He has this on pre-order already. For me, this isn't in my consideration set. I have my iPad. I use it immensely and it's really working the space between "laptop replacement" (on short trips) and media consumption device. I don't see the Fire serving the first purpose at all. That said, this will likely make a small dent in iPad sales (taking the low end of the market) and will kill any other Android tablet fast. If I weren't entrenched with iPad and hadn't used a tablet, I'd do this in a heartbeat. These days I get more content from Amazon than Apple anyway. But that's not the case. Apple had first mover advantage. They practically invented the category. They'll continue to hold considerable market share in spite of (finally) having a decent competitor.

richmackey
richmackey

Great post - my take is that this is a killer device and will really appeal to those who have never purchsed/used an iPad or simply can't afford one. I have a friend in that category. He has wanted an iPad forever but just can't fork over the $$. He has this on pre-order already. For me, this isn't in my consideration set. I have my iPad. I use it immensely and it's really working the space between "laptop replacement" (on short trips) and media consumption device. I don't see the Fire serving the first purpose at all.

That said, this will likely make a small dent in iPad sales (taking the low end of the market) and will kill any other Android tablet fast. If I weren't entrenched with iPad and hadn't used a tablet, I'd do this in a heartbeat. These days I get more content from Amazon than Apple anyway. But that's not the case. Apple had first mover advantage. They practically invented the category. They'll continue to hold considerable market share in spite of (finally) having a decent competitor.

justex07
justex07

@belaszekely Thanks for the comment. Extending your analogy... Hyundai releases a beautiful, luxurious sedan that costs 1/2 of the competition. No, it does have the horse power, the distinctive styling or heritage of the Lexus or Acura it competes with but it does good enough. It has enough power, it has enough in the way or amenities and gets you from point A to point B with just as much legal speed and safety. But the Hyundai is outselling the previous top cars in America. It's cheaper, it has a better warranty and people are OK with "settling" for a lesser known or lower on the totem pole brand to save a huge chunk of change. The Kindle Fire is the Hyundai, the iPad the Acura or Lexus. If you are someone looking for an eReader but don't or can't be without a video player, an email application and games, what would you choose? The $500 version or the $200 version? If you are someone who travels a lot, do you want something that is that much bigger, that much heavier and that much more expensive to replace if it is dropped, stolen, etc? I could definitely be wrong here but aren't there more WiFi only iPads out in the wild than 3G iPads? If I am remembering correctly, it seems that requiring 3G isn't so much a deal anymore. More and more phones are being used as a data tethering device at a fraction of the cost of paying $25/m for data on an iPad. Even then, most people use around 250 MB to 2 GB of data on their 3G iPads each month. That's not a lot. I have a 3G iPad and the only time I ever use the 3G is really when I'm at an airport. Of course, nowadays, many airports are turning on free WiFi. My home airport, SFO, provides great, free WiFi, much faster than AT&T's 3G. If the iPad was a 4G LTE device, maybe I could see the data service being more relevant (streaming HD movies etc) but it isn't. I only purchased the 3G version of the iPad 1 and iPad 2 because I wanted the GPS chip. Bottom line, it's cheap. It's really cheap. It's cheaper than what everyone else thought cheap would be ($250). For the people who KNEW they wanted an iPad, this doesn't change much but to the majority of people who are looking for an affordable tablet computer, eBook reader, this is the device I would recommend to them. And I'm a HUGE Apple fan! Thanks again for your comment.

belaszekely
belaszekely like.author.displayName 1 Like

I am introducing a really inexpensive and well performing wheelbarrow. I wonder if Chevy's Sierra truck will loose any sales because of it. Come on if you not going to have the iPad functionality why do you think that it will effect iPad sales. There are already many low priced Android tablets on the market and no impact on iPad sales. People don't buy pad computing devices just read watch movies and listen to music. As far as the could base browsing is concerned you are tethered to Wi-Fi and that is not good. I want more freedom. By the way I love the Kindle it is great.

justex07
justex07 moderator

@belaszekely Thanks for the comment. Extending your analogy...

Hyundai releases a beautiful, luxurious sedan that costs 1/2 of the competition. No, it does have the horse power, the distinctive styling or heritage of the Lexus or Acura it competes with but it does good enough. It has enough power, it has enough in the way or amenities and gets you from point A to point B with just as much legal speed and safety.

But the Hyundai is outselling the previous top cars in America. It's cheaper, it has a better warranty and people are OK with "settling" for a lesser known or lower on the totem pole brand to save a huge chunk of change.

The Kindle Fire is the Hyundai, the iPad the Acura or Lexus.

If you are someone looking for an eReader but don't or can't be without a video player, an email application and games, what would you choose? The $500 version or the $200 version? If you are someone who travels a lot, do you want something that is that much bigger, that much heavier and that much more expensive to replace if it is dropped, stolen, etc?

I could definitely be wrong here but aren't there more WiFi only iPads out in the wild than 3G iPads? If I am remembering correctly, it seems that requiring 3G isn't so much a deal anymore. More and more phones are being used as a data tethering device at a fraction of the cost of paying $25/m for data on an iPad. Even then, most people use around 250 MB to 2 GB of data on their 3G iPads each month. That's not a lot.

I have a 3G iPad and the only time I ever use the 3G is really when I'm at an airport. Of course, nowadays, many airports are turning on free WiFi. My home airport, SFO, provides great, free WiFi, much faster than AT&T's 3G. If the iPad was a 4G LTE device, maybe I could see the data service being more relevant (streaming HD movies etc) but it isn't. I only purchased the 3G version of the iPad 1 and iPad 2 because I wanted the GPS chip.

Bottom line, it's cheap. It's really cheap. It's cheaper than what everyone else thought cheap would be ($250). For the people who KNEW they wanted an iPad, this doesn't change much but to the majority of people who are looking for an affordable tablet computer, eBook reader, this is the device I would recommend to them. And I'm a HUGE Apple fan!

Thanks again for your comment.

belaszekely
belaszekely

I am introducing a really inexpensive and well performing wheelbarrow. I wonder if Chevy's Sierra truck will loose any sales because of it. Come on if you not going to have the iPad functionality why do you think that it will effect iPad sales. There are already many low priced Android tablets on the market and no impact on iPad sales. People don't buy pad computing devices just read watch movies and listen to music. As far as the could base browsing is concerned you are tethered to Wi-Fi and that is not good. I want more freedom. By the way I love the Kindle it is great.

fashion_kills
fashion_kills

@justex07 Nah,they don't have a camera nor a 3 g connection just wifi . Their only cheap which is what they have going for them

justex07
justex07

@fashion_kills well I wrote the article haha so I think you know my thoughts :-P It's gonna put Apple on alert, at least for a little while.

fashion_kills
fashion_kills

@justex07 I read that article too! What is your take on that?

fashion_kills
fashion_kills

@justex07 I read that article too! What is your take on that?

justex07
justex07

@fashion_kills well I wrote the article haha so I think you know my thoughts :-P It's gonna put Apple on alert, at least for a little while.

fashion_kills
fashion_kills

@justex07 Nah,they don't have a camera nor a 3 g connection just wifi . Their only cheap which is what they have going for them

justex07
justex07

joubiku You're not kidding. That $79 price tag makes this a no-brainer. You will make up the savings in the cost of books within your first few purchases.

justex07
justex07 moderator

@joubiku You're not kidding. That $79 price tag makes this a no-brainer. You will make up the savings in the cost of books within your first few purchases.