14 July 2011Amazon Android tablet to launch in October - report Amazon.com has battled Apple over digital books, digital music and mobile applications.
Now the two companies are taking their clash to another front:
The tablet market.
Amazon plans to release a tablet computer by October, people familiar with the matter said, intensifying its rivalry with Apple's iPad.
While Amazon has long offered digital content on its Website, it has lacked much of the hardware to go with it.
Now the Seattle, USA, company hopes customers will use its tablet to buy and rent that content, said people familiar with its thinking.
An Amazon spokesman didn't respond to requests for comment.
Amazon's looming entry into the tablet market, which Chief Executive Jeff Bezos has hinted at in his appearances this year, is the latest example of how technology companies, once focused on a particular segment of the industry, are increasingly jostling one another on multiple fronts.
That trend is evident in the enterprise-technology arena, where onetime partners such as HP and Oracle became enemies in markets including server computers, and it is now becoming evident in consumer technology.
In recent years, Apple, Amazon and Google have found themselves competing in areas such as the mobile software market and digital content.
The overlap stems from a race to tap into the young and growing field of selling digital goods, such as video, music and books, which are potentially vast markets as more consumers turn to downloads.
Apple and Amazon have already had some bitter clashes.
In March, Apple sued Amazon alleging the online retailer had violated the trademark on the name "App Store."
Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs also has poked fun at Amazon's Kindle electronic-book reader, saying that few people read and that general-purpose devices like the iPad are superior to single-purpose ones.
"Amazon and Apple are frenemies" — both friends and enemies — said Sarah Rotman Epps, a Forrester Research analyst.
They "rely on each other as partners" — Amazon, for example, sells digital books via its Kindle app in Apple's iTunes Store — but "at the same time, they aggressively compete for customers' attention and dollars," she said.
Amazon faces a tough road against Apple in the tablet market.
Since introducing the iPad last year, Apple had sold 19.5 million of the devices as of the end of March 2011.
It is far and away the leader in the tablet market.
The iPad has been bolstered by its connection to Apple's App Store, which sells videogames and other software, and Apple's iTunes store, where people can easily download music, videos and books.
Apple officials didn't respond to a request for comment.
Amazon's tablet will have a roughly nine-inch screen and will run on Google's Android platform, said people familiar with the device.
Unlike the iPad, it won't have a camera, one of these people said.
While the pricing and distribution of the device is unclear, the online retailer won't design the initial tablet itself. It also is outsourcing production to an Asian manufacturer, the people said.
One of the people said the company is working on another model, of its own design, that could be released next year.
The introduction of a tablet poses a conundrum for Amazon on how to keep from cannibalizing sales of its popular Kindle.
Amazon has long said the Kindle is its best-selling device, though it has declined to disclose sales.
A person familiar with Amazon's thinking said it still figuring out how to market the tablet computer.
One issue is whether customers will want to buy both the tablet and Kindle, which is viewed as a dedicated-reading device for bookworms.
But Amazon will be facing competitors other than Apple.
Sony unveiled prototypes of a tablet and a wallet-shaped dual-screen portable device that will offer movies, apps, music, books and PlayStation games.
Sony said the devices would be available later this year.
Amazon plans to introduce two updated versions of its black-and-white Kindle in this year's third quarter, people familiar with the matter said.
One of the new Kindles will have a touch screen, which current models don't have.
Amazon is better-positioned than other companies to go up against Apple, said Ms. Epps, the Forrester analyst.
Part of the reason is because Amazon already has a digital-content store with a significant selection and following.
Amazon has heavily promoted its digital offerings this year.
It launched a streaming video service in February. And in May, it undercut Apple's iTunes store by selling an album by pop singer Lady Gaga for 99 cents.
Amazon is also in a position to offer a cheaper alternative to the iPad, said Ms. Epps.
It could sell the tablet for a loss while hoping to make money on sales of movies, music and books.
Nonetheless, she noted that unlike Apple, which has its own retail stores, Amazon lacks a natural brick-and-mortar outlet to sell its products.Customers are "looking for a cheaper alternative, and they're looking for a compelling experience, in terms of both content and shopping," which Amazon can offer, Ms. Epps said.
In addition, Amazon's product may be less refined than the iPad, which is in its second generation.
"I don't know whether Amazon will be able to compete with Apple head-to-head on hardware sophistication," she said.
