Despite market speculation that Amazon’s entry into the tablet computer business would have a negative impact on Android tablet makers, Acer Inc (宏碁) yesterday retained its full-year shipment target of 2 million to 2.5 million tablets, a company official said.
The US online retailer on Wednesday in New York unveiled its Kindle Fire tablet — a 7-inch handheld device running on Google Inc’s Android platform and selling for US$199.
With a price tag less than half of the entry-point US$499 iPad by Apple Inc, coupled with its ample content offering, Amazon has not only put pressure on Apple, but also on its Android-camp peers, none of whom are likely to compete on either price or value.
“The Kindle Fire carries such a cheap price tag that of course there will be an impact on existing players,” Simon Hwang (黃杉榕), deputy president of Acer’s Touch Business Group, told reporters on the sidelines of an awards ceremony.
Hwang said the company’s shipment target would remain intact, despite speculation that Amazon’s tablet has the potential to disrupt the existing market, forcing non-iPad tablet makers, including Acer and Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), to slash prices in order to stay competitive.
Hwang said Amazon did provide a great example of the integration of software and hardware, which is a good selling point for the device, especially in North America.
As such, Acer is also exploring ways to integrate better software into its tablet offerings, Hwang said.
The company would work with content developers in various countries to offer applications with domestic flavors, he added.
Even so, many Android tablet PC makers were struggling with their profitability before the launch of the Kindle Fire, according to Citigroup Global Markets analyst Kevin Chang (張凱偉).
“With Amazon launching a tablet PC with more flavors next year, we expect to see more players exit the tablet PC business in the next four to six quarters,” Chang wrote in a report on Thursday.
As Amazon is likely to dominate the Android tablet camp, Taiwanese tablet makers such as Acer, Asustek and HTC Corp (宏達電) would be negatively impacted by the launch of the Kindle Fire, Chang and analysts at JPMorgan led by Gokul Hariharan said in separate reports on Thursday.
Acer, the world’s No. 4 PC vendor, introduced its first tablet, Iconia Tab A100, in June, after HTC unveiled its first tablet, the Flyer, in February. Asustek, the world’s No. 5 PC brand, launched its Eee Pad Transformer in March.
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