The likelihood of success for both the impending Amazon tablet and Google's forthcoming Android update, dubbed "Ice Cream Sandwich," against the iPad has reportedly been called into question by industry insiders.
Apple reportedly has prototypes for its third-generation iPad already circling in its supply chain, but no new model is expected to arrive this year as a true second-place tablet has yet to emerge.
Amazon's next Kindle will abandon the efficient, easy to read eInk display of existing models and morph into a $250, 7 inch color touchscreen model based on Android, but incapable of accessing Google's app market or benefiting from future Android releases.
After changes to Apple's App Store policies prompted Amazon to remove a link from its Kindle application to buy new books, the online retailer has launched a new browser-based "Cloud Reader."
Apple's newly enforced policy banning links to out-of-app purchases has forced The Wall Street Journal, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo to remove purchasing options from their iOS applications, while the Google Books application has been completely removed.
Amazon.com plans to introduce its own brand of tablet computer ahead of the holiday shopping season, a move which is sure to intensify competition with new-found rival Apple.
Taiwanese component makers said Wednesday that Amazon is set to release tablets in August or September on its way to a sales target of 4 million units in 2011.
Apple this week revised its rules for in-app subscriptions, and no longer requires that subscriptions purchased outside of an iOS application have the same price or less.
Both Barnes & Noble and Amazon announced new versions of their e-readers on Tuesday: a touchscreen e-ink Nook and a Kindle 3G with "special offers," in an ongoing price war, while Microsoft previewed the "Mango" update to its Windows Phone 7 operating system.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in an interview this week to "stay tuned" on the company's plans for a possible tablet device that would likely supplement, rather than replace, the company's Kindle e-reader.
Bookseller Barnes & Noble revealed in an SEC filing Wednesday that the company plans to announce a new e-reader device on May 24th, creating yet another competitor to Apple's iPad.
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.
After the much anticipated Motorola Xoom and RIM PlayBook failed to live up to expectations, two new Android-based tablets have promised to keep alive alternatives to Apple's iPad: The Barnes & Noble Nook Color and a prototype ThinkPad tablet from Lenovo.
As consumers increasingly turn to the iPad for reading, Amazon has bottomed out on price in order to compete, announcing a cheaper ad-supported version of its Kindle e-reader.
Apple has shown interest in creating a new iPad with a hybrid display that could dynamically switch all or just part of the full-color screen to low-power black-and-white e-ink for text and other static content.
Amazon is actively enticing Apple's iOS App Store developers to bring their efforts to the Kindle platform, particularly educational apps, in a strategy that attempts to push ebook readers up into competition with more sophisticated, general purpose tablets.
Apple's iOS App Store isn't the only game in town for subscribed digital content. Here's a look at how the plans to court publishers' subscription content by Apple, Amazon's Kindle and Google's One Pass compare.
Software currently available in the iOS App Store that does not comply with Apple's newly enforced in-app subscription rules, such as the Amazon Kindle or Hulu+ applications, have until June 30 to comply or they could be removed.
Apple issued a surprisingly timely response to a claim made by the New York Times that suggested the company might bar iOS apps that sell content outside of Apple's software market within iTunes.
Apple has tightened restrictions on its iOS App Store by requiring all in-app purchases to go through it, resulting in the rejection of an eBookstore application from Sony, a new report claims.
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Sam Oliver
Neil Hughes
Daniel Eran Dilger
Katie Marsal
Slash Lane
Josh Ong
