Amazon’s launch of a new seven-inch, color screen “Kindle Fire,” priced at $199, got most of the attention, talked about by many as an “iPad” competitor, but Amazon actually also released three other new Kindle devices that aim to strengthen Amazon’s grip on the e-reader market.
One of the new Kindle e-readers does away with the touch screen and 3G features that the other new Kindle models employ, using Wi-Fi and a directional pad instead, and will cost just $79. That is an attempt to lock up the e-reader market at the low end. Amazon launches Kindle Fire
The other two Kindles that Amazon introduced are based on the black-and-white “E Ink” displays. The Kindle Touch 3G uses infrared senors for touch, and thus eliminates the tiny keypad below the screen. It includes free wireless 3G data service, which will work in over 100 countries, for just $149. The Kindle Touch model is identical but lacks the free 3G service, relying on Wi-Fi instead, for just $99.
Some will say the Kindle Fire is designed to compete more with the Barnes & Noble Nook than the Apple iPad, at least in the current form factors. Until a larger-screen Kindle is introduced, the Kindle will largely remain a content consumption device, where the Apple iPad can be used for some work tasks as well.
Of course, many of use would argue that the iPad, though it can be used for a bit of work, also mostly is a media consumption device.
What is clear enough is that, as expected, Kindle will be designed to be a razor to sell razor blades. The idea is to put a low-cost device widely into the hands of users and then create revenue by commerce and content sales.
The comparison to the Apple iPad will be irresistible, but some of us would argue the Kindle Fire and the other devices more directly represent an evolution of the e-reader device.
Originally designed to support reading books, the e-reader is becoming a portable multimedia platform, supporting consumption of magazine, video and audio content as well. Kindle Fire not a direct iPad competitor
In that sense, Amazon might be on the verge of dominating one part of the media consumption device space that more closely resembles the iPod touch market segment than the iPad.
Though it remains to be seen how end user behavior could develop, retailers say tablets already have changed end user online shopping behavior. Tablets still account for only a small percentage of overall e-commerce, but account for a higher percentage of commerce activity.
While the conversion rate—orders divided by total visits—is three percent for shoppers using a traditional PC, it is four percent or five percent for shoppers using tablets, says Sucharita Mulpuru, an analyst at Forrester Research. Tablet Users Spend More Online - WSJ.com:
Many retailers also report that tablet users place bigger orders, in some cases adding 10 percent to 20 percent to their orders, than shoppers using PCs or smart phones. In a behavioral sense, a tablet seems to facilitate different behavior than a PC or a smart phone.
It remains to be seen how other behavioral differences might emerge as the tablet space and the media consumption device space begin to differentiate.
One of the new Kindle e-readers does away with the touch screen and 3G features that the other new Kindle models employ, using Wi-Fi and a directional pad instead, and will cost just $79. That is an attempt to lock up the e-reader market at the low end. Amazon launches Kindle Fire
The other two Kindles that Amazon introduced are based on the black-and-white “E Ink” displays. The Kindle Touch 3G uses infrared senors for touch, and thus eliminates the tiny keypad below the screen. It includes free wireless 3G data service, which will work in over 100 countries, for just $149. The Kindle Touch model is identical but lacks the free 3G service, relying on Wi-Fi instead, for just $99.
Some will say the Kindle Fire is designed to compete more with the Barnes & Noble Nook than the Apple iPad, at least in the current form factors. Until a larger-screen Kindle is introduced, the Kindle will largely remain a content consumption device, where the Apple iPad can be used for some work tasks as well.
Of course, many of use would argue that the iPad, though it can be used for a bit of work, also mostly is a media consumption device.
What is clear enough is that, as expected, Kindle will be designed to be a razor to sell razor blades. The idea is to put a low-cost device widely into the hands of users and then create revenue by commerce and content sales.
The comparison to the Apple iPad will be irresistible, but some of us would argue the Kindle Fire and the other devices more directly represent an evolution of the e-reader device.
Originally designed to support reading books, the e-reader is becoming a portable multimedia platform, supporting consumption of magazine, video and audio content as well. Kindle Fire not a direct iPad competitor
In that sense, Amazon might be on the verge of dominating one part of the media consumption device space that more closely resembles the iPod touch market segment than the iPad.
Though it remains to be seen how end user behavior could develop, retailers say tablets already have changed end user online shopping behavior. Tablets still account for only a small percentage of overall e-commerce, but account for a higher percentage of commerce activity.
While the conversion rate—orders divided by total visits—is three percent for shoppers using a traditional PC, it is four percent or five percent for shoppers using tablets, says Sucharita Mulpuru, an analyst at Forrester Research. Tablet Users Spend More Online - WSJ.com:
Many retailers also report that tablet users place bigger orders, in some cases adding 10 percent to 20 percent to their orders, than shoppers using PCs or smart phones. In a behavioral sense, a tablet seems to facilitate different behavior than a PC or a smart phone.
It remains to be seen how other behavioral differences might emerge as the tablet space and the media consumption device space begin to differentiate.
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