The Many Ways Amazon Could Price a Successful Tablet

(page 2 of 2)

How Much Will Consumers Pay?

It’s becoming clear that tablets competing with the iPad are unlikely to do well if priced like an iPad. Even with $100 price reductions, there’s no guarantee of success, and it’s not until a decent product goes on a $99 fire sale before consumers buy a non-iPad like frenzied sharks in a school of fish. So no matter what Amazon’s tablet(s) look like or can do, I don’t expect to see a $499 price point. Instead, similar to the Kindle, there could be multiple, lower price points, depending on what other Amazon services a consumer will accept with the tablet.

The Nook Color is doing well at its $249 cost, with 1 million units reportedly sold in the last quarter of 2010 and several million more built for the bookseller. That price target is the upper end of Amazon’s tablet in my opinion. We may see an “unsubsidized” model in the $279 to $299 range, but probably not higher.

That figure fits in nicely with what consumers expect to pay for a tablet: The Institute for Mobile Markets Research surveyed consumers and found the median price they’d be willing to pay is $320. If correct, a feature-rich Amazon tablet priced at $299 or less could be a hit: Forrester Research on Aug. 29 noted that at or below a $300 price point, Amazon could sell 3 million to 5 million such tablets.

Although we don’t yet know all the details of what an Amazon tablet will look like or what it will be able to do, what’s your take on the price? Do you think Amazon will build an Android tablet with an interface better than existing Honeycomb tablets and price it for less, or will the company try to take on Apple at $499?

Also from GigaOM:

Is There a Tablet Market, or Is It Just an iPad Market After All? (subscription required)

Photos: Close-to-Production Coda Electric Sedan

So When Does Academic Publishing Get Disrupted?

Look! It’s VMware’s Mobile Play!

So Which Is It, HP: Do You Want a Tablet Business or Not?

Provided by GigaOm—