At this point, if Amazon doesn't debut a tablet 
computer at its Wednesday news conference in New York the technology world would be shocked. The reported name of the device: Kindle Fire.
In advance of the official announcement, the Fire seems to be on, well, fire. The All Things D blog reports that Amazon has already inked deals with Conde Nast, Hearst and Meredith to peddle their digital magazines on the Android -based tablet.
Amazon on Monday also announced a licensing agreement with Fox that will allow Amazon Prime members to instantly stream a movies and TV shows from the Fox library. That brings the content count up to 11,000 movies and TV shows.
Content Still King
Amazon may be subscribing to the theory that content is king. Avi Greengart, an analyst at Current Analysis, said it appeared that Amazon's Kindle Fire is taking a similar approach to Barnes & Noble's Nook Color.
"Amazon is not selling a tablet to compete against the iPad . Amazon is essentially selling a color e-book reader that has access to its store for buying content," Greengart said. "Amazon's store has an awful lot of content and not just content but services as well."
Greengart pointed out that Amazon has video services, music services and an app store. Amazon sells e-books and periodicals -- and also sells physical goods that it can advertise on its Kindle Fire. By rolling out a glorified color Kindle, it opens the door for Amazon to sell much more content.
Competing on Price?
News reports indicate the Kindle Fire will sport a 7-inch back-lit display and run on a customized version of Google's Android operating system. There are few other details about the actual hardware or how it compares with the market-leading iPad. But an important point of discussion is price.
"Wednesday is tablet day," BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis told Reuters. "Knowing Amazon, it is likely to be a very aggressive price."
Although Amazon didn't launch its original Kindle with a bargain-basement price, the company has in recent months become aggressive with ad-supported models of its Kindle, which are compelling more consumers to take the e-reader plunge. Amazon could compete with Apple's iPad by offering a quality Kindle at a lower price point with comparable services.
"Apple adds value with software and services, but it sells you the hardware. If you take a look at the existing black-and-white Kindle 3, Amazon is basically selling the hardware at cost because the goal is to sell you content," Greengart said. "You are buying a vending machine and the vending machine for the existing Kindle only has two kinds of candy: books and text-based periodicals. A color Kindle could have an awful lot of variety in there."
One thing is certain. Amazon smells opportunity. Gartner reports that tablet sales worldwide will rise to 63.6 million, a 264 percent increase from 2010. Apple has more than 70 percent of that market.
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