As we have stated previously, the Amazon Fire (launched this afternoon) is likely to be the first serious competitor to the iPad. Not because of its spec- it has a 7inch colour touch screen, WiFi only, no 3G, no camera, no mic etc. - but because of its price. It is based on an Amazonised version of Google Android but ‘looks nothing like it’. At just $199/£130 it really is quite a bargain.
It is designed to consume things – books (Kindle e-books, of course), magazines, music (streamed via Amazon Cloud player), games (Yes, you can play Angry Birds on a Fire!), videos (streamed via Amazon Instant Video) etc. Rather than having to link your Fire to your PC to 'sync' it, you store everything on Amazon Cloud Storage. Much neater. Although it doesn’t have a dedicated email server, of course, you can do that using Amazon Silk - its new browser.
Amazon is about the only other company that has as many personal/credit card details as Apple. Indeed, the Fire comes with a free one month Amazon Prime subscription. Amazon clearly believe that, just like the Kindle, it will spur more people to buy stuff via Amazon.
At the same time Amazon has launched a touch screen Kindle for just $99 and reduced the current non-touch screen version to $79.
Of course, there will be many that will prefer the superior Apple iPad. But for others the £130 price tag will be extremely attractive. I can see it flying off the shelves as Christmas presents this year. I bet there will be a rush of new Apps for the Fire too. Indeed, as a kids Xmas present, I can think of a few lucky recipients!
Mark my words this is the first serious iPad competitor. But Apple should not be too worried. They will dominate the high (and very profitable) end of the tablet market for a long time to come.