Google Tablet Targets Amazon Kindle Fire – Sparking Family Fight [Report]

(10:04 am PDT, Jan 5th 2012)

Google Tablet Targets Amazon Kindle Fire – Sparking Family Fight [Report]

Photo by kirainet - http://flic.kr/p/7VsMbN

There’s nothing like a family fight and one may be brewing between Android creator Google and the Kindle Fire, one of the few Android-based tablets able to lay a finger on the iPad’s overwhelming success. Although unconfirmed, a report suggests the Internet giant is planning to unveil its own tablet in early 2012 that could undercut Amazon’s price advantage. It brings tears of joy to the eyes of Apple fans.

The report from Taiwan-based industry publication DigiTimes, cites supply chain sources that Google is preparing a 7-inch tablet powered by the Android 4.0, the latest version of the mobile software tailored just tablets. According to the report, suppliers “believe that Google, instead of Apple, may actually be targeting Amazon’s 7-inch Kindle Fire as its major competitor.”

In a bit of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, Google’s PR machine claims such a plan is news to the Mountain View, Calif. firm. However, just last month, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt implied his company would unveil a “tablet of the highest quality” within six months.

But there remains a number of questions. Foremost, how can Google produce a high-quality tablet and undercut the Kindle Fire’s $199 price? Secondly, Google doesn’t have the ecosystem that allows Amazon to produce a $199 device and make up for the lost profit by selling cloud services, e-books and other items? Although Google has some e-book and music options, they are nowhere near as advanced as either Amazon or as deep as Apple’s.

All of which brings us to the third question: should DigiTimes even be believed? Until we get some confirmation, the report is more suited to the role of interesting rumor.

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  • Anonymous

    So Google are going to start competing directly with the companies that adopt their Android OS? Boy, I didn’t see that coming. (sarcasm) Truthfully they’ve been competing for a while now.

    That must warm the cockles of the handset makers who are presently using Android. You just knew what was coming when they bought Motorolla Mobility. Expect more of the same. Help Android gain traction in the market place and Google will reward you by punching you in the chest and stealing your lunch money.

    • Anonymous

      Actually, it’s more like, taking an OS, stripping it to shreds, replacing it all with Amazon services and calling it Amazon’s.

      The Kindle Fire isn’t an Android tablet. An “Android” tablet, to Google, is one that ha at least one of Google’s services built into it.

      And they bought Motorola Mobility for patents, genius. Because apparently the world’s leading technological innovator feels the need to win by suing rather than by innovating.

      • Anonymous

        Yeah except there wasn’t a phone like the iPhone until the iPhone. So who is the one that’s not innovating?

      • http://www.facebook.com/Yogi1964 Andrew John

        Troll. Droid life wants to know where their troll is. “Here he is”!!!

      • http://www.facebook.com/Yogi1964 Andrew John

        And while the likes of google samsung and htc continue to follow and steal others IP, they by their own actions, refuse to innovate. Why doesn’t samsung come out with a world beating device? Because they don’t have an original thought in their puny little brains. If Apple stopped designing anything new for 2 years, we would see nothing but more of the same stuff we have now. If these other companies are SO great, why don’t we see Apple getting beaten in any area of product development? One company truly innovates, the rest just pretend. Cheers troll.

    • Anonymous

      Again a favoured strategy of MS (and now Google). Get your industry partners (OEM’s, software developers, service providers) to make your “open” platform popular and then knife them in the back by using you brand awareness, large cash piles and platform control by releasing your own versions of each and undercutting your said partners. Google will be hated as much as MS in about 10 years time.

  • Anonymous

    “It brings tears of joy to the eyes of Apple fans.”  Now why would it do that?  Are Apple fans so economically illiterate, or hopelessly in love with Steve’s world, that they don’t recognize how viable competition in the tech world only pushes Apple to innovate better products and make them available at better prices? 

    This isn’t a zero-sum game; it’s not the Super Bowl where your team either wins or loses.  In tech, competition is good for everyone.

    • Anonymous

      I’m pretty sure an unconfirmed rumor that a search engine giant may or may not make a tablet with completely unknown specs that may or may not cost less than a Kindle Fire, does not in fact bring tears of joy to the eyes of Apple fans.

    • Anonymous

      +1 Exactly. The iPad 3 or whatever it will be called will be a lot cheaper. Why? Two reasons.

      1. Kindle Fire
      2. Google Nexus Tablet

      • http://www.facebook.com/Yogi1964 Andrew John

        So You have a link or document to back this “statement” up? Oh poor troll, you try so hard. Droid life would like you to come home troll boy.

        • Anonymous

          June 2012 $200 Nexus Tablet.

          iPad 3/3s = cheaper because of competition.

          Why is that a bad thing? Consumers win. Stop the hate

    • Anonymous

      Just because a reporter says it…it does not make it so. Looks like you just got trolled by Cult Of Mac.

    • http://www.facebook.com/Yogi1964 Andrew John

      If your rant is to be believed, then why hasn’t any other company come up with and iPod killer, or an iPhone killer, or an iPad killer, or an iTunes killer? They all just follow them same line, they don’t step out of it. Apple came in and they change the game, mp3 players/digital music downloads, smart phones and tablet devices. I’m still waiting to see a game changer from google, samsung HTC, MS or any other competitor. I’d rather buy quality Apple products than be a tight assed wanker looking for a carbon copy on the cheap. You only hate Apple because it shows up how cheap you really are.

      • Anonymous

        Agreed. Personally, I’d rather give my money to Apple who are known to push the technological boundaries and go their own way. 

        Furthermore I’m Apple’s customer. They sell me stuff that they develop and manufacture, and they stand behind what they sell. Google tend to jump on trends created by others in ways that let them to continue to harvest your personal information and sell it to their real customers, the advertisers.

        Google gives services away for free to keep people lining up at their food trough. In Google’s eyes, you are nothing more than food for their real customers.

      • Anonymous

        iPhone killer = Galaxy Nexus, not even close.

        iPad killer = coming June 2012

  • David Clark

    Is it just me, or is that Android crying?

    • Anonymous

      Tears of joy

  • Anonymous

    Google has a habit of late of blowing money to get some sort of marketshare bragging rights. Wouldn’t surprise me if they have a strategy of mass producing a tablet even if it generates more losses for them, after all they have the Ad revenue as a large crutch to lean on. Google are looking more like MS each day.

  • Anonymous

    There is definately two Androids,
     1. Android source code
     2. Android trademark
    These two entities are leading to a lot of confusion about what Android is as you can have a combination of both or just one. Amazon ship an Android but which one is it?

About the author

Ed SutherlandEd Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who covers the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.

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