Amazon wants to get into the tablet business and the company might not be able to because the supply of touch screens is not going to be enough to cover all of Apple iPad orders first. Right now the iPad is first on the list of a Taiwanese supplier and they have ordered so many screens and other parts that manufacturing for other companies like Amazon has been put on hold. There is already more than one company making screens for tablets, but TPK Holdings, Wintek, J Touch and HannStar Display are not able to keep up with demand. Those companies are expecting orders to come in from Amazon’s new tablet reportedly codenamed “Coyote” and “Hollywood”.
Amazon has plans to release a tablet sometime in 2011 and if the supply issues get figured out we could see one by Fall. The “Hollywood” reportedly will have a huge 10-inch screen, run the Android operating system and include a processor that is faster than the one needed for the color Kindle, which should be out this year. According to suppliers for Amazon, the company is expecting to get about 1.5 to 2 million units put together for a September release. The sources are not named probably because nobody is supposed to be talking about the situation. Reports say that Amazon is hoping to have about 4 million units shipped worldwide and another source said the release will be just in time for holiday shopping season right around Thanksgiving.
As of right now, TPK Holdings and Wintek could max out their manufacturing capacity just to fill orders for Apple and because of that, the companies are less likely to take orders from another company, which means no commitment to Amazon. Amazon is looking at a tough road ahead by getting into a market with Apple, HP, Samsung and others. Reports today say that Amazon is looking at a $400 price point for a tablet, whichever one it is, and it might come bundled with a free video streaming service to draw in the crowds. The other companies making tablets and releasing them this year include Motorola, Acer, Asus, HP and Research in Motion.
The longer that companies wait to get into the reported $5 billion business the farther they will have to go to get into the head of a game where Apple is dominating with little effort.
