Amazon Aims to Make New Waves With Kindle Fire HD

Published Fri, Sep 7th, 2012   Wall Street Daily Research

 

The original Kindle Fire from Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) shook up the tablet industry with an unheard of $199 price point.

Now, just days before Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) alleged announcement of an iPad mini, Amazon is throwing yet another wrench in the market.

Yesterday, the company unveiled a new HD lineup of Kindle devices. A seven-inch version goes for $199, an 8.9-inch device will sell for $299 and a data-enabled Fire will fetch $499.

Based on previous breakdowns of the original Fire, it’s clear the company makes very little profit selling the device – if any at all.

Amazon’s strategy is all about content. As the company says, “We want to make money when people use our devices, not when they buy our devices.” As we’ve said before, we’re convinced that such a strategy could end up being a boon for the company.

The most expensive, data-enabled tablet is best equipped to give the iPad a run for its money because the data plan costs just $50 a year. That makes the total cost for the first year just $549, compared to $959 for the iPad and a one-year data plan.

If you’re thinking of venturing into the tablet market, are you eyeing the iPad or is this new lineup from Amazon enough to sway your decision? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook or Google+.