Newsy Video: Will Kindle Fire End the Era of Pricey Tablets?

The Kindle Fire is expected to start an inferno in the tablet market.

And the fuel for the fire -- its $199 price tag. CNET says the latest Kindle will burn out the era of pricey tablets.

"…why buy a $500 Xoom if you can get most of what you need from a $199 Fire …
We may not see the impact on Apple--the torchbearer for $500-and-up tablets--until late next year or even 2013, but it's as inevitable as the $999 MacBook Air. Remember, the MacBook Air started at the $1,800 to $3,000 price range..."
 

Computerworld cites a survey saying three times as many people would prefer a Kindle Fire to the lowest priced iPad 2. But in an article posted earlier, Computerworld says Apple will not be losing a lot of sleepover either Kindle Fire or Barnes & Nobles' Nook Tablet. It talked to an analyst who…

"…estimates that Barnes & Noble will sell 1.5 to 2 million Nook Tablets in the fourth quarter, and Amazon will sell 3 million to 5 million Kindle Fires."

And goes on to say

"But if Apple keeps selling iPads at its current rate, it could sell 20 million worldwide in the fourth quarter."
 

But lets not put out the fire just yet.


PC Magazine reports Amazon took some 500,000 pre-orders, not counting the ones that might have come in through its partners. A writer for PC World agrees the Kindle Fire will not reach the bench mark set by Apple but…


"…all signs are pointing to the Kindle Fire being the first significant challenge to Apple's dominance of the consumer tablet market since kick-starting it with that first iOS-based iPad."


The New York Times reminds us the first gen Kindle was under-estimated, too. It quotes numerous analysts who said the Kindle would fizzle out. But one analyst told The New York Times he now regrets his words.
 

"If the Kindle had stayed at its original price at $399, it would have failed … Now it's just $79 away from zero. I wasn't counting on an 80 percent price cut, with Amazon going crazy and sacrificing margins for a digital land grab. But I've learned my lesson. I have my Kindle Fire on pre-order."

"Will Kindle Fire End the Era of Pricey Tablets?" http://www.newsy.com/videos/will-kindle-fire-end-the-era-of-pricey-tablets