I"m in the market for a super-duper 7" Android tablet but the Amazon Fire ain't it. However, I'm glad to see it here because it means my predictions that we're going to get great deals this Black Friday is not only coming true, but the anticipated price drop could be bigger than I ever expected.
And the price drop is already happening. The HTC Flyer currently at $500 will be droped down to $300 by Best Buy on October 6th (Phandroid). My friends, I beg of you: Wait!
Even at this price, it's still $100 more expensive than the Kindle Fire and has worse specs than the Fire. Granted the Flyer has cameras but it's a tablet, there is only a need for a frontal camera for video chats.
And just yesterday, Dave the Mobile Sage informed me that a refub Xoom can be bought for $350 on Woot. Excellent deal if you ask me.
And then today, we also learn that the RIM Playbook is also coming down in price: $300.
All of his is happening two full months before Black Friday. Personally, I'm waiting for a $99 Playbook. Rumor on Wall Street is that RIM has discontinued Playbook production and cease all tablet development activities which RIM came out to deny.
And keep in mind that there are other 7" Honeycomb tablets that are supposed to be out in the coming weeks. I wonder what they would have cost before Amazon laid down the $199 Fire. For instance, Toshiba is readying the 7" Thrive for a November launch. No word on pricing but I reckon it cannot cost more than $300. And even at that price, it's doubtful that even with better specs than the Fire, $100 difference is a big deal in the current recession that Main Street is still in.
So, wait. There will be plenty of choices. The Flyer at $300 cannot be sustained. Nor can the Playbook at $300. for a 7" tablet, if you're not in the $200 to $250 range, you can forget about having any meaningful Christmas.
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