Amazon is planning on launching a 6-inch Fire tablet priced at just $50, according to Engadget. Although current specs are not known, it will reportedly be a half inch bigger than the iPhone 6 Plus, but lack the ability to make voice calls. Amazon plans to release the device just in time for the holidays.
Although the tablet market has been shrinking, it still sold 45 million units in the second quarter, according to Quartz. Amazon looks to target the entry-level tablet market by pushing the price down as low as possible - the company's cheapest Fire tablet as of today is $100.
The news comes shortly after Amazon had to shelve its under-development 14-inch tablet due to the failure of the company's most recent Fire tablet. The company also reportedly had to put an end to the development of numerous other product lines at their hardware facility, Lab126.
Despite the incentive of cheap pricing, not everyone is convinced that Amazon's move is a smart one.
"Will people tolerate a potentially inferior experience just because a tablet is $50?" said Frank Gillett, a Forrester Research analyst. "Amazon has to be very careful about what they're giving up to get to that low price point."
The company outsourced most of the development of the upcoming tablet to overseas firms such as Shanghai Huaqin Telecom Technology Co. and Taiwan's Compal Communications, according to The Wall Street Journal. No representatives from either company have made any comments on the device's development.
