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Amazon to debut LCD tablet to compete with Apple's iPad later this year

Rumors continue to swirl about a new touchscreen tablet from Amazon with a full color LCD screen, with the latest report stating the device is set to launch and take on Apple's iPad in 2011.

Amazon recently placed orders with Quanta Computer, and also has plans to partner with E-Ink Holdings for its forthcoming touchscreen tablet, Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes reported Tuesday. The new device is expected to have an LCD touch panel display with fringe field switching technology.

The device is expected to begin shipping in the second half of 2011, with the initial order pegged at between 700,000 and 800,000. The device would be a shift from the current e-ink based Amazon Kindle, which offers long battery life but displays in black and white.

Sources reportedly said that the Kindle still has strong sales, but Amazon has had trouble finding success with the device in markets outside of North America and Europe. The retailer reportedly plans to reduce the Kindle's price to attract demand from the education and consumer market, and its forthcoming tablet PC will leverage its software and content to take on Apple and the iPad 2.

Amazon recently reduced the price of its e-ink-based Kindle with a new ad-supported model that sells for $114. The device comes with a $25 discount in exchange for ads being displayed on the bottom of the home screen and screensaver.

In March, Amazon began courting developers on Apple's iOS platform, which powers the iPad, to begin making applications for Kindle. While the Kindle is more of a single-purpose device focused on reading, Amazon is said to be interested in selling a more multi-purpose unit, like the iPad, that could play music, movies, and other content sold by the retailer.

Rumors of Amazon's tablet persist as two other companies, Barnes & Noble and Lenovo, are have set their sights directly on the iPad. Barnes & Noble's Nook Color was recently updated to support applications for Android and carries a low $249 price, while Lenovo's forthcoming tablet is said to sport Android 3.0 and an iPad-matching $499 starting price.



44 Comments

christopher126 17 Years · 4366 comments

Good luck with that...don't forget to include excellent software!

al_bundy 16 Years · 1525 comments

amazon actually gets retail and customers. i see A LOT of kindles in NYC

android tablet with the amazon app store would probably sell well. i bet better than motorola and the others who keep running to the carriers

nkalu 15 Years · 315 comments

Bring it on Amazon. The better with more competition.

neiltc13 19 Years · 180 comments

Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Amazon has had trouble finding success with the device in markets outside of North America and Europe

Nice spin. Maybe it has something to do with Kindle not being sold by Amazon on their online stores in the two countries outside North America and Europe where they operate - Japan and China.

sipadan 16 Years · 107 comments

Quote:
Originally Posted by nkalu

Bring it on Amazon. The better with more competition.

Companies wanting a piece of the iPad pie and lamely producing sub-iPad tablets that are nothing more than cheap lower quality copies are not " competition". They are leeches. They bring nothing new in the experience, the ecosystem, the hardware or the tablets outlook for the future.
No matter how you spin it Amazon, B&N and almost ALL OTHER tablets bring NOTHING new or better.