As tablets go, Amazon’s Kindle Fire is, well…on fire. According to IDC analysis, Amazon managed to sell approximately 4.7 million of its new tablet in the last quarter of 2011 , scooping up just under 17 percent of the global tablet market share; and we’re willing to bet those numbers will be up at the end of this quarter, even in the face of the most recent Apple iPad release.
Apple and the other Android-based tablet makers probably aren’t shaking in their boots just yet, since, from a hardware standpoint, the Kindle Fire is nowhere near as capable as most of its competitors. Still, Amazon now has all the assurance it needs to press forward with future versions of its tablet and the real feather in its cap –content– is getting stronger on an almost monthly basis. But nothing gives serious street cred quite like a slew of third-party accessories and, in that arena, Amazon’s tablet has just made a significant step forward.
As of today, the Kindle Fire has its own speaker dock. Electronics manufacturer Grace Digital recently announced it has developed a speaker dock designed to work with the Fire’s unique USB port, headphone jack, and power button which run along the bottom edge of the tablet. The Grace Firedock, as it’s called, is due out this July and boasts a Class D digital amp and ported stereo speakers. It runs on a standard AC outlet, but is designed to run off an optional lithium-ion battery pack for enhanced portability. Specs on the size of the speakers and amplifier power have not yet been released and, even with that info, there’s no telling how great it will sound. But for $130, how bad could it be?
Perhaps more interesting than the dock itself is the notion that, should this new offering from Grace Digital take off, it could inspire a rush of similar devices from other manufacturers and further solidify Amazon’s presence i n the tablet space.
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