Amazon is set to release a $50 tablet computer with 6-inch screen just in time for the holidays, sources say.
"Will people tolerate a potentially inferior experience just because a tablet is $50?" Frank Gillett, a Forrester Research analyst,
told The Wall Street Journal in reacting to the news. "Amazon has to be very careful about what they’re giving up to get to that low price point."
Sources reported that inexpensive tablets in the $50 price range often have poor screen quality, battery life, and are more prone to malfunctions. In the case of Amazon's forthcoming tablet in particular, they said it would have a mono speaker instead of a stereo speaker, for example.
The tablet is said to be one of a series of Amazon tablets ready for release ahead of the holiday season, including an 8- and 10-inch tablet, and will seek to undercut middle-of-the-road Android tablets as well as industry leading tablets like the iPad.
Apple is likely to announce its own new tablet line on Wednesday, and many predict it will release a new model that is bigger than the traditional iPad.
Last year, Amazon had a major hardware flop with its Fire smartphone, which was initially priced in the same range as top-tier phones, and later laid off dozens of engineers who worked on that project, as well as other hardware projects like the Fire tablets, Kindle e-readers, Fire TV set top box, and Amazon Echo.
Currently, Amazon's most inexpensive tablet computer, with a 6-inch screen, sells for $99. The tablet includes advertisements. It is unknown if the new Amazon tablet will include advertisements.
CNet.com reported that the global tablet market declined 7 percent year over year last quarter, according to the International Data Corporation. Apple's tablet sales have seen a 26-percent decline compared to the second quarter 2013.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.