The market for tablets is currently facing a downward slope, and it significantly pales in comparison against the gigantic smartphone business. It's not yet what people can already consider as 'niche' however, as it still has a solid ground to hold as there are still some who consider going for tablets for media consumption.
Simply put, bigger screens with high resolutions spell a better user experience in reading e-books, watching movies, and playing games. This directs Amazon to release a tablet that will cater to the masses yet won't compromise in performance.
The Amazon Fire runs on the Fire OS 5 Bellini, the company's heavily forked version of Android Lollipop. It trails far from the stock version of Android, but certain UI elements such as the onscreen navigation buttons, the notification centre, task manager can be recognized by anyone who has been using devices running Google's mobile OS. There's no Google Play Store here, however, and what's in store is Amazon's own app store. It's not as well-stocked as its Android counterpart, but it would more than likely house the app that you would need. If all else fails,
As far as the specifications go, the Amazon Fire is equipped with a MediaTek MT8127 chipset with a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, a chipset commonly seen in entry-level tablets. It features a 7-inch display with a somewhat average resolution of 1024 x 600. It comes with 1GB of RAM, and its internal storage would seem a bit paltry at 8GB with only 5GB being usable. Fortunately, it features a microSD card slot that can accommodate up to 128GB of additional storage, and Amazon is also planning an update to store Prime Music tracks. The Amazon Fire's battery features 2980mAh of juice, which is expected to run for about seven hours on mixed to heavy usage.
At US$50, the Amazon Fire is one of the most affordable tablets today in its category. For Amazon to push this minimum of a price point, the company used the device's lockscreen as an advertising space. Dishing out an additional US$15 will remove sponsored content. Although, sponsored content wouldn't be too much of an issue as whoever takes interest in the device would be gearing for saving on the budget. Furthermore, the Fire comes in a six-pack, making it great as utility tools or as gifts for the upcoming holidays.
Granted, there may be a plethora of Android tablets on the sub-US$100 category, but Amazon's name in the industry would prove to be far more reliable than other cheap tablets because of two things: there's no need to worry about warranty and support and its users will have access to the company's services, not to mention free apps. Enough said, Amazon's latest entry to its family of tablets is definitely set to please the crowd.
