Amazon's First Tablet Will Attack The Nook, Not The iPad (AMZN, AAPL)

Anyone expecting Amazon to release a tablet computer that will compete with the iPad might want to dial back expectations.

A source close to the company tells us that Amazon is launching at least one tablet later this year, but it will be an advanced e-reader with a color screen and some apps -- more akin to the Nook Color from Barnes & Noble than the iPad.

This matches what a developer told CNET earlier this month: Amazon is set to announce a 7-inch tablet "any day now," but it will likely have a low-powered chip and no camera.

It's focused on the Nook Color because that's where the Kindle is most vulnerable.

Now, this doesn't mean Amazon won't develop a full fledged tablet down the road. But for now, it's going to focus on controlling the e-reader space it has defined for the last three years.

See also: Here's Everything We Know About Amazon's Secret Tablet So Far.

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See Also:

• Amazon Is Getting Ready To Ship 4 Million Tablets By The End Of The Year [REPORT]
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Amazon's First Tablet Will Attack The Nook, Not The iPad (AMZN, AAPL)

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Amazon's Cloud Business Is Growing Like Crazy (AMZN)

Amazon's cloud business is growing like crazy, and could hit $1 billion in revenue next year according to analysts, Reuters reports. 

Right now Amazon Web Services, its cloud computing unit, is small enough that Amazon doesn't report its revenue, but according to estimates, it generated $500 million in revenue last year and will do $750 million this year--a 50% growth rate, which is impressive for such a large unit.

If Amazon really hits these milestones it will be a big event not just for the company, but for the cloud computing industry in general.

This Is What Amazon Will Be Like In 2030 →

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• Three Cheers For The Borders Liquidation!
• THE APPLE INVESTOR: Here's What Wall Street Is Thinking Ahead Of Earnings Tomorrow
• Why Did Jeff Bezos Wait So Long To Get Into Textbook Rentals?

Amazon's Cloud Business Is Growing Like Crazy (AMZN)

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Here's Everything We Know About Amazon's Secret Tablet So Far (AMZN)

Jeff Bezos and company are doing a good job keeping the details on Amazon's new tablet, expected later this year, under the tightest of wraps.

Very, very little is out there about it right now, but we've gathered what we can for you here.

Bezos even plays games with the press when they ask him about it.

"Stay tuned," he says.

It's all but confirmed that it will run on the Android operating system.

There will be two tablets available -- a smaller one called Coyote and a larger one called Hollywood.

The smaller one will likely replace the Kindle and the larger one will compete with the iPad 2.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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• The 3G Kindle Just Got Another $25 Price Cut
• If You're Looking For A Tablet That's Thicker Than The iPad And Runs Honeycomb -- Check This Out
• AOL's New iPhone Music Player App Is Actually Pretty Good

Here's Everything We Know About Amazon's Secret Tablet So Far (AMZN)

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Here's One Reason To Hate Amazon's Android App Store (AMZN, GOOG)

Here's a great example of how user experience is more important choice.

On the iPhone, you can only buy apps from one app store -- Apple's.

But a selection of Android marketplaces are popping up to fill holes in Google's own Android Marketplace.

For instance Amazon's Appstore for Android offers a curated selection of apps that Amazon has confirmed will work well. It also has better search than Google's Android Marketplace and lower prices on some apps -- Amazon even gives some paid apps away for free. Those are good reasons to check it out.

But once you've got the Amazon App Store on your phone, you have to keep it there forever. If you don't, then apps you've downloaded through it might stop working.

A mobile developer pointed this out to us this morning. He stumbled across the problem because he noticed that the Amazon App Store was running some sort of process in the background all the time on his phone, eating up resources. He couldn't even get it to shut down manually. So he got rid of it completely.

Suddenly, all the apps he'd downloaded through it -- including Angry Birds -- stopped working. Instead, he now gets this error message:

We confirmed the behavior on the Nexus S we keep around the office.

This developer suspects that Amazon is collecting usage data through the Appstore app -- that's how it can afford to subsidize apps.

Another more mundane possibility is that the app has to send some kind of signal back to Amazon to prove it's not pirated, and does this through the Appstore app.

Whatever the reason, it's annoying. And not good for the Android platform overall.

Once Amazon makes its own Android tablets, this bug probably won't matter -- you probably won't be able to uninstall the Amazon Appstore from them. In fact, it may be the only approved way to get apps. Just like Apple.

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See Also:

• THE GOOGLE INVESTOR: Android Gets Huge Opportunity In Absence Of New iPhone Launch This Summer
• Microsoft Windows Phones Are Getting Buried At Carriers' Stores
• THE APPLE INVESTOR: iPhone Expected To Lose Smartphone Market Share Over Next 4 Years, To Microsoft!

Here's One Reason To Hate Amazon's Android App Store (AMZN, GOOG)

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