Amazon to release Kindle Fire tablet at $50

E-commerce giant Amazon Inc. is planning to launch a new Kindle Fire tablet this Christmas. Rumour has it that the 6-inch Android tablet would only cost $50.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal , the calculated move by the Seattle-based online retailer would attract buyers looking for a simple device to perform regular tasks like online shopping, browsing and streaming video. The new Kindle would be the least expensive tablet in the market. If the price point pushes through, the new Kindle Fire tablet will be cheaper than a Kindle eBook reader, which costs $79 and half the price of the company’s cheapest tablet, Fire HD 6.

Such inexpensive devices often come with hardware compromises, and sources familiar with the Journal informed that the tablet will only house a mono speaker. With the extremely low price, the new tablet might entice customers and reap profit from selling the device through its own online store.

Last month, following the disastrous sales of the Fire Phone, the company laid off dozens of employees at Lab126, Amazon’s hardware-development center in Silicon Valley. As a result, Amazon also halted many development projects including its large-screen 14-inch tablet and a smart stylus.

As reported by ARS Technica , the layoffs also reformed a part of the organisation with ill-defined job descriptions which increased attrition rates. Fire Phone was the first smartphone launched by the company, which hosts a unique “x-ray” feature used for finding information about media.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos had earlier set internal goals of cutting down prices of both Fire tablet and Kindle e-reader at $50. But analysts opined that the price-conscious dedicated customers of the hugely popular Kindle eReader would not accept the inferior reading experience, just because it is cheap.

Apple is expected to refresh its tablet lineup with a brand new iPad Mini and the most anticipated 12.9 –inch iPad Pro in San Francisco today. Amazon is currently selling its Fire HD 6 with free shipping to Australia at $US114 (AU $161) through its website.

Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au or let us know what you think below.