$50 tablet aims to light a Fire under buyers
SAN FRANCISCO— Amazon is dangling a $50 (U.S.) tablet computer in its latest attempt to lure consumers who can’t afford or don’t want the more expensive Internet-connected devices made by Apple and other rivals.
The seven-inch Fire tablet unveiled Thursday marks Amazon’s most ag- gressive attempt yet to undercut Apple, which has been the market leader since its first iPad went on sale five years ago. The least expensive iPad Mini, which has an 8-inch screen, currently sells for $270 in the U.S.
The Seattle company is counting on the new tablet’s low price to encourage more people to buy a device that will hook them on watching video, reading books, playing games and shopping on a computer that’s easy to carry wherever they go.
Amazon is hoping consumers will buy more digital goods and merchandise from its store while subscribing to its Prime service that offers videos, music and free shipping.
“Our tablet focus is in and around content consumption,” said David Limp, Amazon’s senior vice-president of devices.
As with its previous low-priced tablets, the new Fire device will show ads on its screen saver. Avoiding the ads will cost an additional $15.
The discount tablet will debut amid a slump in the sale of the devices. The downturn suggests consumers who already own a tablet see little need to upgrade and those that don’t have one either aren’t interesting in the devices or can’t afford one.