Online retail giant Amazon could sell as many as five million tablets by the end of the year, one Forrester Researcher analyst has predicted.
According to various reports, Amazon is working on a new tablet computer to accompany its current range of Kindle eReaders.
Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps has told Reuters that Amazon can compete with the iPad but it would have to price the gadget “significantly” under current market costs.
“Thus far, Apple has faced many would-be competitors, but none have gained significant market share,” Epps says. “Not only does Amazon have the potential to gain share quickly but its willingness to sell hardware at a loss, as it did with the Kindle, makes Amazon a nasty competitor.”
“If Amazon’s Android-based tablet sells in the millions, Android will suddenly appear much more attractive to developers who have taken a wait-and-see approach,” Epps says.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
