Amazon Expected To Launch Three Tablets This Year

Amazon’s tablet range is set to expand this year as the online retailer has laid out production plans for three new models, Chinese news agency CENS reports.

Leading the pack will be a high-end 8.9-inch model with a 1920 x 1200 resolution. The other two tablets, covering the low-end and mid-to-high-end ranges, will have 7-inch screens at resolutions of 1024 x 600 and 1280 x 800.

Fire follow-up

Amazon will hope that its upcoming tablets can piggyback off the success of the Android-based Kindle Fire, which CENS say has sold five million since it went on sale in November last year.

Quanta, which was responsible for assembling the Fire, will be one of the two Taiwanese factories working with Amazon for this year’s tablets. Hon Hai will handle the assembly of the 1024 x 600 7-inch model, while Quanta will take care of the 1280 x 800 7-inch model.

By splitting production, Amazon is looking to reduce overall costs to achieve better profit margins than those of the Kindle Fire.

Other companies involved in this split effort will be Prime View, which will supply the flat panel display (FPD) for the 8.9-inch model, and Chimei Innolux, which will become the exclusive supplier of touch sensors for the 7-inch models as well as providing the FPDs for the two smaller tablets.

According to IHS iSuppli, Amazon commanded more than 14 percent of the tablet market by the end of Q4 2011, trailing only to Apple in market share.

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