

Amazon Unveils $199 Kindle Fire Tablet - lachyg
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-28/amazon-unveils-199-kindle-fire-tablet.html?cmpid=bit

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estel
The actual press event is starting in five minutes. There's no livestream, but
various blogs: [http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/28/live-from-amazons-
tablet-...](http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/28/live-from-amazons-tablet-event-
in-nyc/)

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wanorris
I was surprised when everyone was predicting $249 for so long, because Amazon
plays to win, and $199 was a reachable price that both beats the Nook Color
and sounds like a screaming deal to consumers.

My guess is that unless reviews of the device are terrible, they will sell
like crazy this holiday season. The TouchPad fire sale proved that there are
tons of people interested in a tablet but not willing to pay the $4-500 entry
price. I expect Amazon will attract millions of them.

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technoslut
It's not too surprising. The only source I've seen for $249 is Marco Arment.
Many thought the iPad would cost $1000 because of a WSJ article. It ended up
costing half as much. I'm not surprised that both Amazon and Apple would both
use the press.

>The TouchPad fire sale proved that there are tons of people interested in a
tablet but not willing to pay the $4-500 entry price.

The $99 Touchpad is half as much as the Fire and is much as the e-ink Kindle.
The Touchpad was also sold at a huge loss.

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gks
I used to like Marco Arment. But he's one of those people that was better left
to keep himself quieter. The more out spoken he's gotten the more obnoxious
he's gotten.

Sometimes it's best to keep one's mouth shut and be thought a fool than to
open it and remove all doubt. Or something like that anyway. The more Marco
opens his mouth the more of a fool I think he is.

I enjoyed Build and Analyze (his podcast at 5by5) in the beginning, but he got
to the point where he was just being more and more obnoxious.

He's not Gruber, yet he seems to be trying to be Gruber.

Ah well, this is just another of his predictions that has gone wrong.

~~~
danilocampos
Thank you for sharing this. I had been feeling similarly for awhile but
couldn't really boil down why. His blog went from must-read to unreadable. I
wish I could remember which post threw it over the top for me but I had a
visceral reaction at one point best summed up as _Really?_

On the Gruber thing, he has written saying that Gruber is his ideal reader, so
yo aren't far off the mark.

I think that as his traffic, profile and software sales have grown, he has
lost his humility, which is a bad thing for writing.

~~~
gks
That's a pretty good summary I think. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but he comes
across as an arrogant prick on his podcast and it seems to be boiling over
into his blog as well.

I just can't enjoy reading or listening to him anymore.

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eggbrain
If this is true, that price is pretty damn killer. Pricing your tablet at $300
less than the main competition is huge, and now a tablet fits comfortably
between a Kindle and a Netbook in terms of price.

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kokey
Nice one Amazon. It's smaller, and cheaper, has content and is Android. I
certainly see where this fits into the market. I'm sticking to an iPhone, but
would like to have access to the Android ecosystem and want something smaller
than the iPad, and I would rather get a better laptop at home than pay iPad
money.

~~~
lachyg
It's a HUGE powerplay, but I just don't know if it can beat the iPad. I think
Amazons moving into be a serious competitor now. This product definitely
cements it.

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omgwtfaduck
Ars Technica has a liveblog :
[http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2011/09/liveblog-
amazons...](http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2011/09/liveblog-amazons-new-
york-tablet-press-event.ars)

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jccodez
Because it is Amazon, this will bring in a new wave of buyers and opportunity
for developers.

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lachyg
Looks like it is all coming out now. Interesting timing on Amazons part.

