Amazon to Launch More Tablets, Aims to Boost Sales of Digital Goods

Amazon.com plans expand its mobile platform and its offering of devices beyond e-readers and the Kindle Fire tablet, analysts, developers and retail partners said of results next week from the world's largest Internet retailer.

Amazon is introduce up to five or six tablet SKUs, or stock-keeping units, to Demos Parneros, president of U.S. Retail for Staples, which sells the Fire.

The tablets will different sizes, including a 10-inch model, Parneros said. Amazon spokespeople declined to comment the company's plans.

Amazon is making its tablets to help the company sell more digital goods, as MP3s, movies, TV shows, apps and games. Physical versions of these products, such CDs and DVDs, were a big business Amazon, but they are now in decline.

Having its own devices sitting atop a software platform that offers digital content more than 100 million, credit-card-wielding customers already programmed buy, could help Amazon become a major mobile platform player, challenging Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook.

"You're seeing the Apple play book recreated by everyone who wants to play in the mobile device ecosystem. Amazon is the entrant," said Niccolo de Masi, chief executive of Glu Mobile, which develops mobile games the Fire.

"The Kindle Fire is to a great start," he added. "We will be supporting all new devices have promise. They are trying to build the foundations they have."

Data = Smartphone?

Amazon launched the seven-inch Fire in September, the company has almost a year of data the spending habits of these tablet owners. If they have increased purchases of digital goods the device, that may embolden Amazon to introduce devices, such as a larger, more expensive tablet and a smart phone, analysts and others said.

"Amazon will keep working this path of providing mobile devices and tablet devices," said Giordano Contestabile, an executive PopCap, a unit of Electronic Arts (EA.O) whose games include: Plants vs. Zombies, Bejeweled and Peggle on the Fire. "We're all waiting," he added.

Purchases of Amazon e-books surged after company introduce the Kindle e-reader in 2007, Citi Research analyst Mark Mahaney said.


Adapted and abridged from: CNBC, July 23, 2012.