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View Full Version : Will Amazon's $50 tablet change the market?



Harold Mansfield
09-25-2015, 02:10 PM
I've had probably 4 different tablets over the years and currently don't have a working one at all.
Even when I had "full featured" tablets, I generally only used them as readers..to sit on the couch or take with me to read blogs and such.

Never had a Kindle, but I'm already a prime member and reviews on it have been great since the launch, so I'll probably get at least one at this price. $50 and it has an SD card slot, kind of a no brainier if you just want a reader and do some basic web stuff. I mean do I really need a 4K display and tons of on board storage just to read stuff?

Just wondering if anyone else will be jumping on it, and do you think this will force other main stream makers to come out with cheaper tablets for people like me who aren't looking for a "laptop replacement"?

By the way, I know it's not lost on most of you that Star Trek was the first to envision the tablet reader/communication device like so many other things that we have today :)

vangogh
09-26-2015, 11:01 AM
I doubt it. If people aren't buying tablets now, I don't think it's because of price. There are plenty of inexpensive tablets on the market for people who's main concern is price. I think bigger phones are probably hurting tablet sales. I think the new Fire has a 7 inch screen. The new Galaxy phones are 5.7 inches I think. At those sizes I think most people concerned about price will stick with the phone and ignore the tablet.

Keep in mind that outside of the U.S. (and the U.K. I think) Amazon isn't such a big deal.

I have an iPad mini right now, which I'm sure isn't a surprise to you. I do use it mainly to read and I can see where someone who does the same might decide they don't really need a tablet. They mainly want something to read ebooks with. I get the feeling that person isn't in a rush to upgrade what they have. What I find with my iPad is in the winter it fits nicely in my jacket pocket and I carry it around more. During the months were I don't wear a jacket it tends to stay at home.

Like I said I use it mainly to read. I watch some video on it and I play some games on it too. I think what prevents me from using it for more is that it's difficult for me to type with any software keyboard and I haven't found a good hardware solution. If that gets solved I could see myself using my iPad for more than I do now.

I thought the new iPad Pro was interesting. I don't expect a lot of people to rush out and buy it, especially given its price, but I can see how, combined with the pencil, it'll appeal to specific industries. Anyone who does graphic work of any kind is likely to find it a useful tool for example. I get the feeling that's where tablets will go, not specifically as drawing tablets for artists and designers, but products tailored to specific industries and use case.

Some people will only want to read on a tablet and perhaps they'll prefer a smaller tablet that doesn't cost much. Other people will gladly use their phone for reading, but will prefer something larger as a drawing tablet. Another group might prefer it for something we haven't seen yet.

I just don't think price is the reason more tablets aren't selling. I think it's more because people haven't found a use for one in their lives yet or the one they already own works well enough for what they want to do. You never know, though. $50 isn't a lot and maybe it gets people who have been curious about tablets to try one.

Freelancier
09-26-2015, 11:32 AM
Only maybe for my kids who destroy a tablet a year at the current rate. Those USB power connectors are the weak link for many tablets: jiggle it a little too much the way a kid will and it'll break inside and stop charging.

As for $50 price point, it wasn't like $150 was a big deal for most people who wanted a 7" tablet and lots of great ones at that price point. Even at the $100 price point, there were a few ok ones available as well as sales of refurbished ones.

$50 just doesn't seem like a huge win for anything other than marketing the Kindle and bait/switch people up to the higher-priced ones so they can have the features that they didn't realize they couldn't do without.

Harold Mansfield
09-26-2015, 11:37 AM
Definitely agree with you on the phone size thing. I have Note 4 and since I've had it getting another 7" tablet hasn't been a priority, but as I said I do miss it for reading on the couch and when traveling.

True, there are a lot of cheap tablets but unfortunately not made by anyone I trust, and the cheaper ones generally come with older versions of Android, and don't get updated.
The cheap Windows tablets, however, are running full Windows and updates are OTA.

The Fire comes with a modified version of Android that Amazon created, but they support their products. It's probably their reputation with me that makes this a solid deal.

It actually took me owning a few tablets of various sizes to realize what I actually needed a tablet for..which is pretty much reading. I don't want to pretend it's a laptop because it's not, I have an actual laptop for that. The Surface Pro does interest me because it runs full Windows 10, but I don't need it.

But back to the Fire, for $50 I'm probably going to get a few of them and stuff some Christmas stockings. I'll bet there will be a lot of that going around this year. Smart move by Amazon. After all, they're not interested in profiting from the tablet, they're interested in getting more people in Prime and buying more from Amazon...which I already am and do.

Harold Mansfield
09-26-2015, 12:38 PM
$50 just doesn't seem like a huge win for anything other than marketing the Kindle and bait/switch people up to the higher-priced ones so they can have the features that they didn't realize they couldn't do without.

You definitely have to understand what you're getting. A Kindle makes sense for Prime members. The specs on the 7" are better than basic. Love the SD card slot that supports up to 128GB, and unlimited cloud storage.
If you're a little tech savvy and know how to side load apps from the Play store you're good to go. But it shouldn't be confused for a fast full featured tablet. It's a Kindle. It's main function is to be a reader. If you want to do more than read, facebook, email, or play the occasional game get a different tablet.

I agree that it's a good deal if you had kids. Most of the popular games are available and a web browser. If I had kids I'd much rather toss one of those at them in the back seat of the car, than let them play with my $700 phone like I see a lot of people doing.

For me, I'm pretty sure I can load my Harmony app on it and use it as a remote for my Entertainment system. For $50, it's cheaper than an actual remote with a color display. I can think of all kinds of uses for it, actually.

Brian Altenhofel
09-27-2015, 06:09 AM
It's definitely not for me. I use my tablet for quickly logging into servers while traveling, remotely controlling AV systems, watching videos, delivering presentations, etc.

The people I know who have bought Kindles in the past (which would seem to significantly overlap the target market for a $50 tablet) quickly moved to more fully-featured devices. So there is a market there, but it's likely a "give 'em a taste of what they could have" market with easier upselling later.

Harold Mansfield
09-27-2015, 12:16 PM
It's definitely not for me. I use my tablet for quickly logging into servers while traveling, remotely controlling AV systems, watching videos, delivering presentations, etc.


Yeah, it's definitely not that kind of tablet.


The people I know who have bought Kindles in the past (which would seem to significantly overlap the target market for a $50 tablet) quickly moved to more fully-featured devices. So there is a market there, but it's likely a "give 'em a taste of what they could have" market with easier upselling later.

I can understand that if they didn't know what they were buying in the first place. But the Kindle has always been a reader. They've never portrayed it as any kind of powerful full featured business tablet although it does do email and basic web functions like reading PDF documents.

I don't really think up selling tablets is the strategy. They don't make money on the tablets. At least not much. They bring the price down by selling sponsorships which you can remove for an additional fee.

I think putting Amazon branded tablets in people's hands so that they can sell them Amazon books, music, movies, prime memberships and making it easier to shop on Amazon is the strategy.

Like I said, they really only make sense if you're a Prime Member or understand what it is. Don't buy one thinking you're getting something equivalent to a Google Nexus.

turboguy
09-27-2015, 03:06 PM
If I was in the market for a tablet I doubt that I would buy the $ 50.00 one. So far I have never owned a tablet. I have thought about one a few times but then I realize I have no need for one. I prefer my laptop when I travel so I can do more serious work and a desktop for the office and my phone bridges the gap.

Freelancier
09-27-2015, 03:26 PM
Harold, I think you're right about this being a way to sell Prime and the Kindle Unlimited subscriptions. There's clearly no real profit in a $50 tablet, nor will there be enough features to make this a worthy replacement for a general purpose tablet. But as a reader and video/music player for Prime subscribers it'll likely be a good seller.

Harold Mansfield
10-05-2015, 06:51 PM
So I got my $50 Kindle today.

I have to admit, it's nice. Well made. Easy to use. Decent display. Feels good in your hand.

Set up was actually nice. It pretty much did it on it's own, and had a nice little walk through that all tablet makers should do.
Signed in to my Amazon account and all of my digital products were right there on the tablet.

I thought the 1G of RAM was going to suck, but it's actually pretty fast and responsive. Comparable to my old Nexus 7 as far as switching from app to app, but the touch isn't as super sensitive.

Once I increased the font size to "Middle aged", I side loaded Google account services, Framework and Playstore APK's with no problem. Amazon's app store isn't as robust as the Play Store, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be. All of the popular stuff is there including Google Now.

Looks like it's going to be perfect for exactly what I wanted it for...as a nightstand reader/remote control for my entertainment center.
Seriously, for $50 I have no complaints at all.

Not sure about buying a 6 pack and handing them out as gifts. It's really not very practical to anyone without a Prime account, or doesn't know how to do any hacks or mods. And even though you can create multiple profiles on one tablet, you can't share a Prime account across multiple tablets.

But still worth the $50 for me. That's not even a Friday bar tab.

Harold Mansfield
11-17-2015, 04:25 PM
OK, so after a little over a month with it I still like it. I actually kind of love the little thing. Again, $50.
I've settled into mostly using it for reading blogs, tech articles, and I have started a new book. Battery life is better than every other device I have. If I don't stream live shows on it constantly, you can go a week without charging it when just reading on it.

Can't wait to do an Audible book on it. The voice reader is actually really good. Must be the same technology as in the Echo.

My idea of using it for a universal remote kind of fell short since I already have a Harmony Keyboard that does everything.

So basically I'm most impressed with it just as a Kindle. It does what it's supposed to very well.
It's actually so good at what it does it makes you want to buy another because of the price alone.