This article is more than 1 year old

Amazon's anti-iPad arises 'in October'

The other Jobsian nemesis

Amazon will answer Apple's iPad before October, according to a report citing people familiar with the matter.

The Wall Street Journal reports that in the third quarter, Amazon will introduce a full-fledged Android fondleslab as well as two new versions of its existing Kindle ereader. One of these Kindles will include a touchscreen, the paper says.

On Wednesday, Amazon introduced a new lower priced Kindle that includes ads from AT&T. With ads, the 3G Kindle is $139. Without them, it's $189.

According to the WSJ's sources, Amazon's Android tablet will offer a roughly-nine-inch screen, and it will be designed and built by a third-party Asian manufacturer. It will not have a camera, the WSJ reports, but it will allow buyers to "easily" watch videos, read ebooks, and listen to digital music purchased or rented from Jeff Bezos and company. Naturally.

There's quite a rivalry developing between Amazon and Apple, despite the very different origins of the two tech giants. Both are now selling digital music, videos, and books, and earlier this year, Apple actually sued Amazon for calling its Android app store the Android Appstore.

It's nonsense of Jobsian proportions.

"App store is entirely generic, completely un-protectable, and it's farcical that Apple has been pushing the issue as far as it has. It's completely embarrassing for them, and they just should let it go," Eric Goldman – an associate professor at Santa Clara University School of Law, director of the High Tech Law Institute, well-known tech law blogger – has told The Reg.

"App is a recognized shorthand for application, another name for software. It's like saying: 'I was the first person to call myself the bagel store.' Even if you're first, you still can't protect 'bagel store'. Some else can call themselves the bagel store if they're selling bagels." ®

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like