It'll be fun, once Amazon tablets appear, to see which reporters had the best sources.On June 19, I noted TechnoBuffalo's Noah Kravitz writing about his own sources giving him information that conflicted with the previous strong rumors of "Hollywood" and "Coyote" code-named models that would be based, earlier reports had said, on NVIDIA processors.
Not so, says Kravitz.
' My sources tell me Amazon’s tablet computer will run Android but feature Intel-based innards, and not an Nvidia Tegra processor, but what beats at the heart of Jeff Bezos’ secret creation is barely half the story here. The all-but-confirmed Kindle successor should be available online before the end of this year – perhaps before Summer’s end – and while we don’t know anything official about it, most everybody and their “sources” agree that the thing will run Android. And no, really, I actually have sources. I promise. '
Today, June 22, I see that Digitimes's Yenting Chen and Adam Hwang have reported August or September due-dates and the following, which matches Kravitz's information but conflicts with Digitimes' own previous report on screen panels, but Wintek (see worker-poisoning problems) seems to supply a TFT type display:
' Amazon is poised to step into tablet PCs and will launch models as son [sic] as August-September, with targeted global sales of four million units for 2011, according to Taiwan-based component makers...
. . .
Amazon adopts processors developed by Texas Instruments, with Taiwan-based Wintek to supply touch panels, ILI Technology to supply LCD driver ICs and Quanta Computer responsible for assembly, the sources indicated. Monthly shipments are expected to be 700,000-800,000 units.
Amazon will provide streaming movie services for users of its tablet PCs, the sources noted. '
Wintek supplies touch panels to Apple, HTC Corp., and Samsung Electronics Co.
Wintek supplies the touch panels for the Apple iPad 2
Mobile Mac World's Ben Camm-Jones, wrote in January (before the Feb. Digitimes report) that Wintek and TPK would supply the touch panels for the Apple iPad 2 and that the TFT-LCD displays would be made by LG and Samsung "having been designed by Apple."
I don't know how Digitimes explains its quite conflicting reports on the the type of technology used for Amazon tablet displays.
Here's what Camm-Jones says about why the iPad 2 did not use the ffs technology (that Digitimes described in its earlier report): ' The most important reason why iPad 2 won't have retinal display is yield rate of panel making. At this point, making high resolution and bright IPS/FFS panel is not easy and the production volume and cost couldn't meet Apple's requirements," the note reads. '
In the meantime, we'll see in August/September, maybe, which ones were given good info.
Here is the ongoing list of earlier blog articles on the many stronger rumors circulating on online gadget news sites about a coming Amazon color LCD tablet or family of tablets (by year end).
ONE rumor has been about a smaller e-Ink Kindle as well, with touch screen some time during the fall (David Carnoy at CNet, who's repeated it twice since then).)
Kindleworld ANDROID TABLET blog articles on the larger rumors:
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
RUMOR: Amazon 10" color tablet to offer free streaming video as promo. Updated
http://bit.ly/kwtstream
Monday, May 16, 2011
Amazon tablet family rumors grow, with 'Coyote' and 'Hollywood' code names
http://bit.ly/kwamtab2
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Amazon's Android Tablet(s) later this year - more on the likely display
with samples of the type of screen resolution we might see
http://bit.ly/kwamtab
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Jeff Bezos talks about possible Tablet and concerns over adKindles
http://bit.ly/kwcrjb
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Is Samsung building an Android tablet for Amazon?
http://bit.ly/kwatss
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
SMALLER E-INK Kindle [possibility] with touchscreen - per David Carnoy
http://bit.ly/kwksmall#ksmall
Friday, November 5, 2010
That Amazon Android Tablet May be a Reality - UPDATE
http://bit.ly/kwktab2
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I like these rumors, because they keep me from buying gizmos I don't need. As long as there is something out on the horizon that might be a better value than what is already available, or at least something that would be interesting to consider, I am prepared to wait as long as it takes. I just hope it doesn't actually ship in August, my piggy bank will not be full by then.
ReplyDeleteThere's really no hard news here. It's gonna be a tegra cpu, then TI, no no don't tell me -- it's really gonna be Intel :D
ReplyDeleteYesterday, Bufo Calvin posted on his blog that 28 kindle user Guide "placeholders" had appeared in the kindle store (since removed). Checking Amazon's help page. I was able to determine that Amazon publishes 7 documents (UG PDF, UG AZW, Quick Start guide, and 4 non-English versions of the UG) per kindle model implying 4 "new" models. If they treat WiFi and 3G as separate model types, then perhaps we are talking about only 2 "new" models corresponding to "Coyote" and "Hollywood" (boy I'm running the string on this one :D).
The rumors of Aug/Sept delivery are from supply chain sources, which might mean the dates are for when Amazon wants to start shipping product. The two models might also be offset by a month (hence the Aug/Sept ambiguity). In any event a delivery in Aug/Sept might mean an announcement in July (Golly, is this wishful thinking or what? :-)). Amazon has announced product 4-6 weeks in advance of shipping in the past.
Ed, I agree with you that the announcement of any tablets will come earlier as they normally do.
ReplyDeleteIt would be good to get any news soon since some offerings now are for massive enhanced-"Kindle" books for Apple devices (what happened to "for Amazon KINDLE devices? -- so it's obvious to me that they ARE doing tablets as it would be foolhardy not to).
Glad you were able to get on here, with the blogger comment process being so difficult due to the strange problems with cookies that Google tech reps mention.