Amazon tablet rumor: 7-inch due October, 10-inch in 2012

By Andrew Couts August 31, 2011

amazon tablet android samsung — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Expected to have the best chance at beating back the domination of Apple’s iPad line, the rumored Amazon tablets will reportedly begin to arrive in October of this year, with another, larger tablet due early 2012.

According to Taiwan-based DigiTimes, Amazon plans to release a 7-inch tablet sometime in October. Mass production of a 10.1-inch Amazon tablet will begin in the first quarter of next year.

Market estimates suggest Amazon could sell between 3 million and 5 million tablets during the fourth quarter of 2011, if the device carries a competitive price, and the timing of the release is right.

Unfortunately for Amazon, some analysts believe that, in order to make gains on the iPad, the company will have to price their tablet so low that they sell it at a loss. In doing so, Amazon will have the ability to build up a user base for their device, which could help with future sales.

Of course, this could work, if Amazon’s willing to do it. We recently saw the consumer fervor over the HP TouchPad, which went on sale at the blow-out price of $99, and sold out everywhere. In fact, the liquidation was such a success that HP announced Tuesday that they may produce another round of TouchPads before canceling production of the device for good.

Before we get too deep into sales tactics, we must remember that Amazon’s tablet plans remain entirely unconfirmed. The closest thing we have to a confirmation that Amazon is even planning to build a tablet at all is two words from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos: “Stay tuned,” he said, after a Consumer Reports reporter asked him about his company’s tablet intentions.

With Amazon’s success and superiority in the e-Reader department, however, common sense tells us that Amazon should make its own tablet. The company has become trusted for its Kindle products, and jumping to tablets isn’t much of a leap. Whether or not Amazon has the legs for it, well, we’ll just have to sit tight and wait.

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