Amazon release subsidised Kindle Fire : This changes everything

Amazon have just announced that they are releasing a subsidised colour Kindle reader for $199. This is going to seriously mess with the tablet market. The reason they have done this, is that they know that anyone who purchases one of the new Kindle readers is far more likely to spend money on the Amazon store. Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and Chief Executive, said the full-colour, touchscreen device, would be a premium product “at a non-premium price”, and called the new Fire “an incredible achievement”. This will usher in a new era for the tablet market, that is much more like the mobile phone market in the UK where the devices have essentially become disposable (thrown away at the end of each contract stretch). How are the other lower end tablet manufacturers going to compete with a price like that?  This could really mean the end for the Android tablet market, as you could get two Kindle Fire readers for the price of an LG optimus. This could actually result in the market being shared between two providers - Amazon and Apple.  I doubt that this new launch will do anything to shake the iPad market, as there is too much brand loyalty there, but it could be a sad day for Android. I for one was hoping that Android would really take off, and we would see more uptake of the open source OS. Would you like to see the promotional film ? Here it is - We will really be keeping a close eye on developments. The tablet market is still immature, and somewhat in a state of flux. I'm really hoping that this event doesn't damage the market, and destroy the incredible level of innovation we have witnessed so far.