Amazon tablet to start off with huge 2m shipment

Amazon's plan to launch its tablets in September could involve a very aggressive opening month, part suppliers said Wednesday night. HannStar, J Touch, and Wintek are expected to supply touchscreen panels for the Android slates with a goal of shipping 1.5 million to two million just for that month alone. Earlier Digitimes sources had already penned in estimates of four million for 2011, hinting that Amazon is counting on a large-scale launch but slowing down quickly later on.

The online reseller may be constrained by Apple in spite of the aggressive plans. Talks have purportedly included iPad supplier TPK, but it was hesitant to sign on as it was worried it might not make enough touch panel supply. Wintek's own increased Apple demand might create a problem as well.

Details of Amazon's tablets are still indefinite but are expected to involve two models, the Coyote and Hollywood. The seven-inch Coyote would be an entry model where the Hollywood would go 10-inch and compete with other Android designers as well as the iPad. One rumor has NVIDIA supplying dual-core Tegra 2 (Coyote) and quad-core Tegra 3 (Hollywood) processors, although countering claims have it using TI OMAP processors instead.

Either tablet is expected to lean heavily on Amazon services such as the Appstore, Cloud Drive, Instant Video, and Kindle. As a result, it could be one of the few tablets beyond Apple's to have a truly complete ecosystem, since most Android makers are relying on Google and third-party services that are either in limited release or non-existent.

By Electronista Staff