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On Wednesday, Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) unveiled its tablet, the Kindle Fire. Although there are several tablets and e-readers on the market, the Kindle Fire is attracting significant attention from consumers and investors alike with its $199 price tag.
Here's a peek at what our investor-intelligence community at The Motley Fool has to say about the Kindle Fire.
Bullish on Amazon.com
Motley Fool Stock Advisor member Mwlove, posting on a Stock Advisor discussion board:
Amazon has found a lucrative niche with these new Kindles, and they offer a variety of price points for people to enter the tablet market. The way that both Amazon and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) are integrating hardware with cloud-based media services is going to put a lot of pressure on both Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG). Having both hardware and content provides a synergy for Apple and Amazon that others can't match. Apple will keep the high-end market of those who want the cool factor; Amazon will appeal to a completely different market, and can subsidize the hardware to drive sales in other areas. The market is large enough for both Amazon and Apple to be successful. But Amazon's moves make it much more likely that Google buys Netflix.
Community member dlchase24, commenting on an article:
I think Amazon realizes that hardware isn't what will rule the tablet market. It is a media consumption device that helps sell their content. It works the same way for Apple; the iPad is really intended to sell their content, and that's likely why other competitors have failed. While some may argue over screen size or lack of HDMI, they should also consider this is a first generation device. A 10-inch option could be in the works. An HDMI option could be in the works, although there are streamers and such already out there for getting Amazon content in your living room. While everyone is happy to point out what new products don't have (even with Apple's products), I think you have to at least be intrigued with this as a first step for Amazon.
CAPS member Yooperking, writing a Motley Fool CAPS pitch:
Amazon's Kindle Fire will rule the day and its all-time high of $244 will soon be a support price instead of a ceiling.
Community member EGTalbot, commenting on an article:
This is not the iPad killer; it's the [Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS)] Nook Color killer and the [Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM)] killer (not that RIM isn't also suffering from self-inflicted wounds). The key question is whether it will sell, not whether we can find legitimate things to complain about. Given that Barnes & Noble took a less tech-savvy and much smaller customer base and sold 3 million units the first year with a similar tablet that was more expensive, I could easily see Amazon selling 15 [million to] 20 million units in a year. Given that most of the profit will come from content, it's hard to predict exactly how much that increases earnings, but it's a decent upside.
Bearish on Amazon.com
Community member LWILLS, commenting on an article:
My biggest problem is with the size. Younger generations will simply make do with their phone and older generations will find it too small to be very useful. What it could possibly do is bring in new tablet users who have stayed out of the iPad market [because of] price. Once they "get" the usefulness of a tablet but become frustrated [with] the Fire's limitations, they may be more willing to pony up the dough to buy an iPad. My [65-year-old] aunt, an avowed anti-Apple person, recently purchased a Galaxy Tablet for her birthday. After using it a few days and not being able to do what she wanted on it (limited apps), she returned it and purchased an iPad2. And believe me, she is pretty stubborn. So for her to change her mind really caught my attention.
Community member ScottmFool, commenting on an article
OK, their customization of Android [had] better be off-the-charts awesome, because based on a comparison with the Nook Color, they're virtually identical except the Fire has a (slightly) smaller screen and no microSD slot. The Fire does beat the Nook on price by $50, but how long do you think it'll take [Barnes & Noble] to lower the price? So, unless that Android customization is awesome, this thing isn't even better than a Nook. My initial impression is that this is media hype. I'll wait for the Nook to drop in price [and] then buy that.
CAPS member EnigmaDude, writing a CAPS pitch:
Wish I had bought some back when it was trading for $50 and everyone was convinced they were overpriced. Now that they have come out with a new tablet, the stock really is overpriced [because of] sky-high expectations.
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