Amazon Rolls Out $50 'Mass Market' Tablet

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With a price point of just $50, how could you go wrong with one of these?

Amazon.com Inc introduced on Thursday a $49.99 tablet, a price tag analysts said was low enough to set it apart in a crowded market and draw more customers to its online services. Analysts said there are few comparable tablets that cost as little as the new Fire. The device comes with a quad core processor and 12 gigabyte storage.
 
Amazon doesn't sell hardware to make a profit off of it, they sell them as loss-leaders so that people will buy stuff off of the Kindle Store, Amazon Instant Video, etc.
 
Their smartphone was a bad idea in a crowded market, but I predict this cheap tablet is going to sell like hotcakes.
 
Jim Kim said:
Their smartphone was a bad idea in a crowded market, but I predict this cheap tablet is going to sell like hotcakes.
Click to expand...

If they had made a cheaper phone and priced it like this, they would have sold like hotcakes.
 
Hmm might be in for one, and pickup the new Fire TV.

I have had nothing but great experiences from Amazon, and the new slow ship option for free app money is nice.
 
Jim Kim said:
Their smartphone was a bad idea in a crowded market, but I predict this cheap tablet is going to sell like hotcakes.
Click to expand...

I tend to disagree here. I thought the execution was bad. AT&T exclusive at launch and a high off contract price killed it for a lot.


Now I've been wanting a tablet but for what I actually plan to use it for the price tags havn't interested me enough. This however has my attention.
 
Jim Kim said:
Their smartphone was a bad idea in a crowded market, but I predict this cheap tablet is going to sell like hotcakes.
Click to expand...

I disagree; We have 2 fire phones and they are damn good phones.
It was really over priced to begin with. Once they started discounting them they sold like crazy.
 
Alas, one more cheap, crap tablet in a segment flooded by them. BUT, with the Fire tag, and the impending holiday sales season, it'll move. Shoot, for $50, it's a spur of the moment present that doesn't suck.

With a MicroSD slot, I'm willing to bet someone ports Lollipop to it REAL quick.
 
Wanted to get my 5-yr old a tablet for xmas. Thanks Amazon. $50 is basically a no-brainer.
 
nutzo said:
If they had made a cheaper phone and priced it like this, they would have sold like hotcakes.
Click to expand...

The problem is all phone appear cheap because the majority of the cost is rolled into the service contract.
 
Not sure about the tablet, bored with that format. But disposable/usable tech can be handy for some.

The FireTV is a fantastic bit of kit though. One of the best things I've bought in ages.
 
jpm100 said:
The problem is all phone appear cheap because the majority of the cost is rolled into the service contract.
Click to expand...

Only for people with no money planning skills.

My family is on T-Mobile and the last 2 phone I've bought outright (on sale of course), no payments or jacked up monthly costs. Much cheaper that way, as we tend to keep our phones as long as possible.
 
As for the Tablet, and considering it is only $50

Quad core CPU - good
micro SD slot - good
Standard Micro USB charging port - good

1024x600 resolution - bad
8GB internal storage - bad
VGA front camera -bad
2mp rear camera - bad
90 day warranty - bad (upgrade to 1 year warranty is $9.99)

Not overly impressed.
 
Dr. Righteous said:
I disagree; We have 2 fire phones and they are damn good phones.
It was really over priced to begin with. Once they started discounting them they sold like crazy.
Click to expand...

OK, maybe I should have prefaced my post with "as launched" their overpriced smartphone was a bad idea in a crowded market.

Once that same market forced Amazon to have a fire sale - see what I did there - they were a bargain. Closeout items are frequently sold at discount.

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the Fire phones hardware.

But in the end you have a phone running an extremely outdated version of Android with an additional UI that probably is not getting any more development dollars.

There is another saving grace, both Amazon and the user have the ability to install needed security and software updates.
 
I wonder what the standalone GPS capabilities of the new tablet will be.
 
nutzo said:
As for the Tablet, and considering it is only $50

Quad core CPU - good
micro SD slot - good
Standard Micro USB charging port - good

1024x600 resolution - bad
8GB internal storage - bad
VGA front camera -bad
2mp rear camera - bad
90 day warranty - bad (upgrade to 1 year warranty is $9.99)

Not overly impressed.
Click to expand...

1024x600 resolution - expected in this price range
8GB internal storage - ( see above)
VGA front camera - ( see above)
2mp rear camera - ( see above)
90 day warranty - ( see above)

No one expected this to challenge the iPad Air.
It's $50 dollars for Christ's sake
 
What are the quad core? A53's by chance? Decent little tablet if thats the case!
 
Steve said:
With a price point of just $50, how could you go wrong with
Click to expand...

wasting your life waiting for it to boot?

using it as a doorstop when the chinacrap battery goes flat after 2 months?

throwing it against the wall in frustration with the junk touch interface that doesn't really work?

plenty of ways I suspect
 
It actually looks like a decent little tablet though I really wish it would have been a 6" screen instead of a 7" one because that's one more inch than I wanna have to deal with every single day. Still, once the reviews start to come in and the initial stockout is over, I'll prolly get one to replace my e-ink Kindle.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
It actually looks like a decent little tablet though I really wish it would have been a 6" screen instead of a 7" one because that's one more inch than I wanna have to deal with every single day.
Click to expand...
That's what she said.
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
Still, once the reviews start to come in and the initial stockout is over, I'll prolly get one to replace my e-ink Kindle.
Click to expand...

I'll never replace an e-ink reader with LCD. I tried it, and it is NOT a better experience.
 
And you know THEY know it's cheap when they're doing a "buy 5 get one free" right out the door.

Grandmothers with 6 grandchildren just did their Christmas shopping.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
It actually looks like a decent little tablet though I really wish it would have been a 6" screen instead of a 7" one because that's one more inch than I wanna have to deal with every single day. Still, once the reviews start to come in and the initial stockout is over, I'll prolly get one to replace my e-ink Kindle.
Click to expand...

I don't know if you can beat an e-ink book reader, unless it's the 6" paperwhite.
 
Modred189 said:
That's what she said.
Click to expand...

That was totally the point of that statement. :)

I'll never replace an e-ink reader with LCD. I tried it, and it is NOT a better experience.
Click to expand...

I do agree that the e-ink screen is much, much better for reading and a lot closer to opening a physical book, but the Kindle model I have has some pretty big limitations that are related to e-ink. I've been trying to get rid of cookbooks for a while now and the Kindle's software and e-ink screen make it a huge pain to navigate around a inside a book to find a recipe. Going from the page I was on to the table of contents and then to the page where the recipe is at a pretty slow process with a lot of screen refreshing. The more standard Fire is a little quicker for that kinda stuff, but I admit lots worse for extended use if you're doing something like reading a novel.
 
Jim Kim said:
I don't know if you can beat an e-ink book reader, unless it's the 6" paperwhite.
Click to expand...

Mine's like over three years old so the battery is getting kinda tired. I love it for reading a novel, but like I was saying in the post right above this, it's such a huge pain for cookbooks and other reference type stuff where you're flipping around through virtual pages and need to find something quickly. Maybe that's just a problem with the older Kindle UI though. I haven't tried a current model e-ink Kindle so book navigation might have been improved.
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
That was totally the point of that statement. :)



I do agree that the e-ink screen is much, much better for reading and a lot closer to opening a physical book, but the Kindle model I have has some pretty big limitations that are related to e-ink. I've been trying to get rid of cookbooks for a while now and the Kindle's software and e-ink screen make it a huge pain to navigate around a inside a book to find a recipe. Going from the page I was on to the table of contents and then to the page where the recipe is at a pretty slow process with a lot of screen refreshing. The more standard Fire is a little quicker for that kinda stuff, but I admit lots worse for extended use if you're doing something like reading a novel.
Click to expand...

This is so true. For reading an e-ink is supreme. But for reference documents it just doesn't fly. Unfortunately it's mostly because of the software, not a limitation of the screen. But without the software, it doesn't matter how good the screen is.

One of my law school classes had an e-book as its textbook, and while nice for reading the assignments through the first time, annotating, bookmarking and referring back later was an absolute horror. I ended up loading the file on my computer, and then later printing the entire thing out at the school's library. :eek:
 
CreepyUncleGoogle said:
Mine's like over three years old so the battery is getting kinda tired. I love it for reading a novel, but like I was saying in the post right above this, it's such a huge pain for cookbooks and other reference type stuff where you're flipping around through virtual pages and need to find something quickly. Maybe that's just a problem with the older Kindle UI though. I haven't tried a current model e-ink Kindle so book navigation might have been improved.
Click to expand...

CUG, you need to face the [H]ard truth. You will never be satisfied unless you have multiple devices varying in inches from 6" to 13":eek:.
Larger is so much better in the kitchen.:D
 
Modred189 said:
This is so true. For reading an e-ink is supreme. But for reference documents it just doesn't fly. Unfortunately it's mostly because of the software, not a limitation of the screen. But without the software, it doesn't matter how good the screen is.

One of my law school classes had an e-book as its textbook, and while nice for reading the assignments through the first time, annotating, bookmarking and referring back later was an absolute horror. I ended up loading the file on my computer, and then later printing the entire thing out at the school's library. :eek:
Click to expand...

Yes, textbooks are another one of those scenarios too. I tried it once with a college class for my undergrad degree and it was pretty much the same experience, great for reading and awful for study after the fact. Also, some diagrams really need to be in whatever colors the publisher intended to make sense.

Jim Kim said:
CUG, you need to face the [H]ard truth. You will never be satisfied unless you have multiple devices varying in inches from 6" to 13":eek:.
Larger is so much better in the kitchen.:D
Click to expand...

Yikes! What does someone even do with 13 inches? I can't imagine _that_ getting flopped on the counter next a mixing bowl! Something that big needs to go into the bedroom where it can get propped up and used properly in the evening before sleeping. Besides, something smaller would probably be less likely to get accidentally smushed under a rolling pin or cut with a knife since it's easier to tuck in the proper places.
 
I'll wait for the reviews but for the money it seems to be better than the cheap Chinese made android tablets you see everywhere.
 
I need to get a new remote for my Fire TV anyways. The 20 dollar difference will make itself up over time vs. the cost of battery replacements for the voice remote. That thing chews through some AAA's.
 
This tablet with a waterproof case would be PERFECT to use in a boat with Fishidy or the Navionics HD apps.

Couple this with a RayMarine Wi-FISH and you've saved thousands.
 
This is the tablet you buy in bulk and mount all over the house. I'm going to see if I can install one of these across from each toilet in the house.

Watching something on prime. Need to take a dump. Pause.
Give it 30 seconds to sync.
Relocate to shitter. Bring up app.
Hit resume. Drop turds.
Pause. Clean up.
Back to Media room. Resume.

It's a fucking TV junkie's wet dream.
 
Cali3350 said:
What are the quad core? A53's by chance? Decent little tablet if thats the case!
Click to expand...

Leaks spec the CPU as a MediaTek MT8127, which is a quad-A7 + Mali450 SoC. The benchmarks I can find put it roughly on par with Snapdragon S4 Plus parts. It probably performs marginally better than a Nexus 7 (2012), and gets clubbed like a baby seal by everything currently on sale from any company whose name you recognize.
 
Doesn't look bad, especially for the cost.

Would be cool to put some home automation stuff on it and use it as a remote for it. Or, a tablet to take wherever. If it breaks, you're out $50 and not $500...

Lots of uses. It's nothing great, but expected at that price point. If you want something better, you have to pay for it.
 
I read this as "Apple" and thought you'd forgotten the word "case". But then I had to reread it because that seemed way too cheap for Apple.
 
XenIneX said:
Leaks spec the CPU as a MediaTek MT8127, which is a quad-A7 + Mali450 SoC. The benchmarks I can find put it roughly on par with Snapdragon S4 Plus parts. It probably performs marginally better than a Nexus 7 (2012), and gets clubbed like a baby seal by everything currently on sale from any company whose name you recognize.
Click to expand...

Yeek, A7's. Didnt realize those were still fabbed. I had wet dreams about a quad core A53.
 
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