In a couple of hours, Amazon is expected to unveil the latest tablet that will try to take on Apple's market-dominating iPad. The difference—according to weeks of rumor, guesswork, and innuendo—is that unlike all those other also-ran devices, Amazon's will actually have a shot at knocking the iPad off its perch.
One reason folks think Amazon's so-called Kindle Fire has a shot at challenging the iPad is simply that it's not trying to be the iPad. It's purportedly a 7-inch tablet, which as PCMag's Sascha Segan points out "can be used one-handed, making [it] qualitatively different from 10-inch tablets like the iPad.
Of course, 7-inch tablets have been tried before without a ton of success. But as Segan points out, such attempts "haven't gotten their experience in order" and, it says here, even nice-enough 7-inch tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab have a fatal flaw—they're trying to be a smaller iPad.
If we've learned anything from all these attempts to make tablets that function like the iPad, it's this: People who want a tablet that functions like the iPad are almost always going to buy an iPad. In other words, if you insist on making a tablet, it'd probably be smart to take your chances with one that's not much like the iPad at all, rather than beat your head against a wall that's already got plenty of skull fragments from the likes of HP, Motorola, Research in Motion, et al.
Competing with the iPad on price is tough, if not impossible, because Apple has such a well-oiled supply chain for its iOS devices. Competing on media content and apps? Even tougher. Finally, Apple has also expanded its relations with the carriers, so gone are the days when a rival device-maker could make a few sales by simply pointing out how much AT&T sucks.
For all those reasons, tablets that simply try to copy the iPad have failed, often spectacularly. The only copycat tablet to enjoy even a moderate little sales run was the TouchPad—after HP slashed its prices from iPad levels and held a fire sale.
Somebody really needs to come up with a different approach for taking on Apple. Could Amazon be the company that finally sidesteps the iPad entirely and comes up with a tablet that's all its own? There some signs that it could be.
The Amazon tablet is going to be smaller and priced considerably lower than the iPad, if the reports are accurate. And crucially, it could operate much more like a vehicle for receiving Amazon content than as a general-purpose computing device like Apple's tablet.
The proof will be in the pudding, but we could see a product that doesn't necessarily poach consumers who want an iPad-like tablet but rather helps expand the tablet market to include more potential buyers who don't, for whatever reason.
And if the Kindle Fire should succeed where so many other non-iPad tablets have failed thus far, we could see a barebones blueprint for how companies not named Apple can start to actually make marketable tablets.
As Segan points out, the 7-inch form factor and an attractive price are great starting points for would-be tablet makers as this particular market gets bigger and starts to segment. What's also intriguing is the idea of a tablet that's built for a specific purpose like content consumption. Building on that idea, click ahead for a few more types of tablets some enterprising companies might build, less as alternatives to the iPad, but as different devices altogether.
MORE: Read on for five types of tablets that could take a bite out of Apple.
1. The Consumption Contraption
The iPad is obviously the best-selling general-purpose consumer tablet on the market. But not every potential tablet buyer needs all the bells and whistles it provides. A purpose-built consumption device like we're guessing the Kindle Fire will be could prove very attractive to a certain segment of the market.
Pros: With a good price point, plenty of content, and the right marketing, such a tablet could attract people who are looking to upgrade from an ereader but who don't need a fully loaded tablet device.
Cons: If your consumption-centric tablet doesn't have a price tag considerably south of the iPad's, and a content pipeline that rivals it, all bets are off.
2. The Gaming Gadget
Like the consumption-centric tablet, a device that's focused primarily on delivering an awesome handheld gaming experience could have some very lucrative targeted appeal. Gamestop has confirmed plans for an in-house Android-based gaming tablet that would eventually be a vehicle for streaming games and we'll watch with interest how it does.
Pros: Gamers spend big bucks on handhelds. Making one with lots more screen and a solid distribution pipeline for games seems like a winning proposition.
Cons: You'd have to keep the price down, which might be tough, and tablet-optimized game development and distribution is in its infancy.
3. The Movie Machine
Amazon's supposedly got another tablet in the pipeline for 2012, a 10-incher rumored to be called Hollywood. Interesting choice of code names, wouldn't you say? It's reportedly going to sport Nvidia's powerful, next-generation media engine. That sounds like a tablet that could be to media playback what the Kindle Fire aims to be for content consumption. If Amazon doesn't make this tablet, somebody should.
Pros: Could a tablet that does one big thing like play stored and streaming video better than any other device on the market succeed? News flash: People really like watching movies and TV.
Cons: Again, a content pipeline. Again, price. Also, connectivity for streamed titles.
4. The Road Warrior's Resource
Research in Motion flailed in its first attempt at building this tablet. But the BlackBerry PlayBook's lack of success so far doesn't mean enterprise customers wouldn't welcome the right device to provision across their mobile workforce. Such a product could be the first big tablet play for Microsoft with Windows 8.
Pros: Make a secure, manageable commercial tablet that's built to handle enterprise applications and CTOs could well beat a path to your door.
Cons: The trend in enterprise IT is towards incorporating consumer devices preferred by users (like the iPad) rather than forcing unliked, company-approved devices on the workforce.
5. The Student Special
Think the One Laptop Per Child project and Intel's Classmate initiative, but with tablets. Sure, those programs have had their ups and downs, but they've also done some real good in the world and helped to evolve the netbook category—which had a profitable little run until, you know, tablets came along.
Pros: Subsidies! Exclusive contracts! Captive audience! Doing something nice for a change!
Cons: A whole lot of red tape to navigate.