"With this price, though, Amazon won't steal Apple's customers.."
I think a lot of people with iPads would have been more than happy to spend half as much to get an easy-to-use tablet.
I think a lot of people with iPads would have been more than happy to spend half as much to get an easy-to-use tablet.
For what it's worth, I couldn't justify an iPad for $500. I would absolutely consider a Fire for $200 (or a Fire 3G for $250-300).
My mom (she's a minister) just got an iPad, when all she needed was a handheld device with which she can scroll the text of a eulogy, when she's at a grave doing a funeral. The lowliest of tablets can handle this task, but "iPad" is all people talk about. If Amazon can generate buzz -- and I think they can -- then it would certainly erode sales such as my mom's.
"Easy-to-use", which is far from a given on a non-iOS device, doesn't mean anything if there is not an attractive application base.
For those who use it extensively, they probably feel $500ish is worth what they paid.
For those who don't, sure they might wish they had spent less, but are these folks going to be satisfied with less functionality/apps/screensize/etc?
The iPad is popular with kids and elderly alike mostly due to it's larger screen size.
No 3G, not much storage space, lower resolution (as soon as Apple releases iPad's with retina display) and lack of an Apple logo make the Fire inferior, but with a much lower price it could make things interesting.