[menaknow]

Interesting link, the pictures really illustrate it.
Kindle Fire vs. BlackBerry PlayBook... Fight! -- Engadget

RIM, I see a lawsuit. Especially if Apple can sue Samsung....

[Prey521]

Lawsuit? LOL

[boldman4]

Interesting link, the pictures really illustrate it.
Kindle Fire vs. BlackBerry PlayBook... Fight! -- Engadget

RIM, I see a lawsuit. Especially if Apple can sue Samsung....

Seeing as both tablets were designed by Quanta, I don't see how RIM can sue Amazon. If they wanted to own the design, they should have designed it themselves.

[moryc]

Get real people ... this is like comparing a Plymouth Neon and an S-Class Mercedes back when Chrysler was owned by Daimler. These AREN'T the same device -- just because they look the same doesn't make them comparable.
I won't even try to compare the specs of the Fire to the PB ...

Now don't take this as a shot against the Fire -- great device, likely the best, when compared to other E-READERS out there ... not in the same boat as PB, iPad, Tab 10.1....etc...etc...

[LilCoop2]

I have not seen many high-res, clear shots of the Kindle Fire from too many angles, but from what I've seen, they look damn near the exact same (branding aside). I still would rather have a PlayBook - Only thing keeping me from one is the price point. With the PlayBook sales I've noticed recently, it may be coming soon. Or... Should I wait for the PlayBook 2.0??? O_O

[rsxsniper]

on a sidenote, look at the comments on the engadget website. they clearly dont know what the playbook is capable of. cant blame them, poor advertising from rims part.

[peter9477]

I see little resemblance. Same approximate size, and they're both black and have shiny glass screens.

Beyond that, the connectors along the edge are different, the bezel is narrower and not even symmetrical (appears wider along top edge in portrait mode), and might even be a slightly different form factor.

I can't really understand the ridiculous talk about it being a "copycat" (words from an N4BB post) and such. Form follows function to some extent, but beyond that there seems little reason to think of these devices as sharing anything beyond the rough size, and same CPU (except slower).

[FF22]

How many unique designs exist for a rectangle with a touch-screen?

And maybe there was already a deal on this as apparently the same firm builds them both.

[jvictor77]

I have not seen many high-res, clear shots of the Kindle Fire from too many angles, but from what I've seen, they look damn near the exact same (branding aside). I still would rather have a PlayBook - Only thing keeping me from one is the price point. With the PlayBook sales I've noticed recently, it may be coming soon. Or... Should I wait for the PlayBook 2.0??? O_O

Remember that 2.0 will be a major software upgrade only. The hardware on the PB is good as is for, at least, a while yet.

[tumer]

So someone plans explain why amazon can sell ot for $199 and for rim it cost more then that to make ???

[Blacklac]

So someone plans explain why amazon can sell ot for $199 and for rim it cost more then that to make ???

Half the RAM, half the storage space, no camera's... From what I read, you can get a 16GB PB for $100 more, I'd say given the better internals, $100 is kind of inline. ****, the PB is priced $100 for each storage bump alone! Its hard to tell in that picture, but the Kindle doesn't appear to have the PB's stereo speakers, so they probably skimped there too. I dont know if it has an HDMI port or not either.

Edit: Supposedly, no microphone or GPS on the Kindle either.

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't want an Android Tablet with only 512MB. But I guess they are assuming this will be more of a suped up Kindle that is tied to Prime, so I guess they dont really care about absolute performance.

[boldman4]

So someone plans explain why amazon can sell ot for $199 and for rim it cost more then that to make ???

Amazon Losing $50 Per Kindle Fire? - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

Because Amazon may lose $50 on each one, but make it up on the ecosystem. RIM will have to do the same.

[howarmat]

So someone plans explain why amazon can sell ot for $199 and for rim it cost more then that to make ???

amazon is using google OS which is free where RIM had to use QNX and out much more R&D into the product.

[trsbbs]

Ads for the Kindle Fire..

[kyleheney]

If the Fire is successful, RIM should take it as a positive because it will not only take away market share from Apple, but will demonstrate that 7 inches is a great form factor for a tablet.

[trsbbs]

RIMM is down 2.6% at 13:59. The news of the new Kindle being a PB cousin and lower priced is not helping at all.

RIM needs to get with it now!. With this coming out and Apple unleashing products in October it is going to be a long 2 -3 months for RIM.

With the PB stumbling around and no real/Earth shattering improvements since its release the PB is going to get even more of a pounding in the press and in sales. From the video is TAT working with Amazon? How can Amazon have this and not RIM already? To me this speaks volumes on the issues at the top of RIMs tower.

OS2 needs to be great and they need it out now our they WILL get lost in the rush.

Just in the time it took me to write this RIMM is now down 3.09% and falling. Could see it hit sub 20 per share mark before the day is over. Not good.

Tim

[ignites]

Seeing as both tablets were designed by Quanta, I don't see how RIM can sue Amazon. If they wanted to own the design, they should have designed it themselves.

knowing rim and their really really really .. picky NDAs. im sure this would have breached if Quanta used design for customer A and 'made small modifications' and sold it to customer 'B'

i 100% expect lawsuit cue the count....

[trsbbs]

If the Fire is successful, RIM should take it as a positive because it will not only take away market share from Apple, but will demonstrate that 7 inches is a great form factor for a tablet.

It might take a tenth of a percent off Apple and thats a BIG maybe but it is going to hurt the PB both in the press, the customers eyes, the sales of the PB and the stock prices as investors
will run away from RIMM once again.

In short, in no way shape or form is this going to be good for RIM and the PB.

Tim

Update. Small uptick in the stock the last few moments. Bargin hunters and take over wishers might be grabbing some.
We shall see...but as a whole, the trend will be down on this news.

[Blacklac]

RIM cant be helped until they have brand recognition again. If you read the blog comments (people who are supposedly up on tech?!), people have no idea what the PB can or cant do. People just dont know what the PB is about. More competition doesn't help that at all. RIM needs to open people's eyes. Frankly, the small handful of features we are expecting from OS2 wont do that either. They need a whole new marketing campaign and a bunch of new eye opening features. Native email and a limited Android App compatibility wont do much for the unaware.

I mean, reading those Engadget comments are painful. People don't even think the PB can rotate orientation...

[Dougielas]

Lawsuit? LOL

Apple would if it looked like one of thier products.

[lorax1284]

Does the Fire have Bluetooth support? If so, what profiles?

[lnichols]

amazon is using google OS which is free where RIM had to use QNX and out much more R&D into the product.

Free until Microsoft or Apple start collecting $X per device from them for patent infringement. Samsung just agreed to pay MS $15 per Android phone they sale for licensing. So is that all the major Android handset OEM's paying companies other than Google to use this free OS?

[fruitloaf]

It might take a tenth of a percent off Apple and thats a BIG maybe

Market share wise the last numbers I saw had Apple with 80% of the tablet market. The only way that number is going is down. Don't confuse that with the number of tablets that Apple will ship - I'm sure Apple will keep on selling more than previously in the short term but in the medium to long run this could well hurt their growth.

Look at what Amazon did to the e-reader market, it started late but is now the dominant player. I don't expect that to happen to Apple as they are far more savy but assuming that Amazon have produced a decent 7" tablet that can browse the web, play Angry Birds, read Kindle books and play some movies and music then I think they're onto a big winner at that price point.

Sadly about the only thing I can see recommending my Playbook currently over a Fire is the 16GB of storage and probably the HDMI (no idea if the Fire has that, it would be sensible of Amazon to have it but they have to cut costs somewhere). OS2 had better be very good to compete in this market.

[jjjahn]

instead of getting asked if the playbook is a ipad i can see it now. We will get asked, oh is that a kindle fire?

[FF22]

It looks as if it does not have bluetooth support for headphones, at least, it is not listed. But then again, neither does the pb - no bt for headphones.