Few companies would look for any association with BlackBerry's PlayBook at the moment: shipments of RIM's debut tablet more than halved during the last quarter, coming in at a total of 200,000 units.
A report by gdgt, however, suggests one of the reasons Amazon's Android tablet has made the transition from concept to (near) reality in such quick fashion is because its core is anything but original.
Fuelling the fire
The website cites unnamed sources who claim the tablet which has recently been dubbed Kindle Fire is essentially a modified PlayBook.
The firm's Kindle department was reportedly unwilling to develop a tablet in its own right choosing instead to focus their attention on 'next-gen E-Ink based devices' - so Amazon looked to pick up a device off the shelf.
However, unlike retailer GameStop, which recently revealed it will simply re-brand an existing Android tablet with its own colours, Amazon turned to PlayBook's manufacturer Quanta, who - according to gtgt co-under Ryan Block - helped the company "shortcut the development process" by using RIM's device as a template.
Starting with a stopgap
"Of course, it's never quite that simple, and as I'm told Amazon ran into trouble, and eventually sacrifices were made - like using a slower processor," adds Block.
"Although Amazon did refresh the ID of their PlayBook derivative, I'm told that this first tablet of theirs is 'supposed to be pretty poor' and is a 'stopgap' in order to get a tablet out the door for the 2011 holiday season."
Quanta is likely to be grateful of the business. Owing to PlayBook's slow take up - amongst other issues - it's been reported by DigiTimes that the firm is about to let 1,000 workers go from its production lines in Taiwan.
[source: gdgt]
News
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.
Related Articles
Top Stories
News
8 hours, 42 minutes ago
Will your players earn you the Pocket Gamer People's Choice Award 2024?
News
11 hours, 10 minutes ago
NetEase’s Once Human opens up mobile pre-registrations after 13 million on PC
Feature
10 hours, 9 minutes ago
Case study: How Supercent’s games made it to the top in a stagnating hypercasual market
Feature
12 hours, 7 minutes ago
“There has been an increase in funding opportunities for African developers with more exciting times to come"
Events
Nordic Game Spring 2024 | Nordic | May 21st |
Impact 2024 - Indie Games | May 23rd | |
Morocco Gaming Expo | Africa | May 24th |
MomoCon 2024 | North America | May 24th |
For The Win 2024 | Europe | May 29th |
Unreal Fest Gold Coast 2024 | Australasia | May 29th |
Indie Craft K-Game Festival 2024 | Europe | May 31st |
GDCy Fest 2024 | May 31st |