Today is the day. Amazon.com's
The tablet market feels like it's an old friend, when in reality it's still incredibly nascent. Apple
While Apple may always be the tablet leader, it can't hold on to a 75% market share forever, especially with how quickly the market is growing. Plus, Microsoft
Barnes & Noble's
The tablets that have gone head-to-head with the iPad on price have fallen short, including the Motorola Mobility
Can Amazon succeed? The massive e-tailer has tricks up its sleeve that other non-Apple tablet makers can't match. While Apple even thinks the Kindle Fire will boost iPad sales due to continued fragmentation of the platform, Amazon has the capability to replicate Apple's integrated strategy.
Amazon has content down pat with Amazon Prime, which continues to grow, and MP3 store and cloud storage. It has its own Android Appstore and the Fire is sparking massive interest among developers. The Fire's forked version of Android is so unrecognizable that it's differentiated from its brethren. CEO Jeff Bezos has already said Amazon is building "millions more" of the devices.
Just about the only thing that the Fire doesn't have going for it is hardware. There has been talk that Amazon was in a time crunch to get the Fire out for the holiday shopping season, so it tapped Quanta as a shortcut, and it may have tapped iPad manufacturer Foxconn for the second generation. The second-generation hardware is rumored to have a 10-inch display and feature NVIDIA's
The Kindle Fire is on track to receive a warm welcome to the tablet market, and be the best Android tablet out there to date.
Will the Kindle Fire truly be the best Android tablet so far? Are you buying one? Or are you waiting for the iPad 3? Let us know in the comments section below. Add Amazon to our free watchlist service to stay updated as the tablet hits the market.