Amazon debuts Android-based tablet

Stuff.co.nz.

Or it could end up as just another over-hyped, under-performing tablet steamrolled by the Apple juggernaut.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, neither Samsung, Motorola nor Acer could beg or borrow any of Apple's magic. Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, said it shipped only 200 000 units of its PlayBook in three months - about what Apple sells in three days. Hewlett-Packard, which flopped with the TouchPad, was the latest to get burned.

Now comes another competitor, the best-placed challenger of all: Amazon.com. The online retailer is on the verge of introducing its own tablet, and analysts predict a souped-up colour version of its Kindle e-reader that will undercut the iPad in price, and aim to steal away a couple of million unit sales.

The launch coincides with an analyst report from JPMorgan Chase, which said Apple has cut back its orders of iPad parts by 25% this quarter, writes Mail and Guardian.

Analysts have predicted sales of between three and five million units of the Fire in the fourth quarter, which is expected to sport a seven-inch screen, compared to the 10-inch screen of the iPad, but will reportedly sell for $250, half the price of its larger rival.