PlayBook to have same price as iPad 2; Amazon opens app store

At the on-going CTIA Wireless Show in Orlando, Florida, Blackberry maker RIM has announced that it will sell its PlayBook tablet at almost exactly the same price as Apple’s iPad 2, while online retail giant Amazon bared that it is entering the online applications marketplace with its Appstore for Android in the US. Ovum principal analyst Steven Hartley said in comment that the competitive price of the PlayBook is a good move for the Canada-based smartphone maker. “RIM’s newly announced pricing details for its PlayBook tablet device appear targeted for competition against Apple’s iPad 2. The price for the PlayBook starts at $499 for the 16GB version, matching that of Apple’s 16GB WiFi iPad 2", Hartley said. “However, the North American tablet market looks fiercely competitive this year – with Samsung’s 8.9-inch Galaxy Tab and Motorola’s Xoom lining up alongside the iPad 2 – so RIM may have trouble selling the benefits of its device to consumers, especially given the content and application onslaught from Apple and Google," he noted. “As with BlackBerry smartphones, the PlayBook’s strongest hand looks to be in its business system integration, which is where we expect to see its greatest success in the near term," he added. Meanwhile, Ovum principal analyst Tony Cripps said it would be interesting to observe the effect of Amazon’s entry into the applications space on Google and its Android OS, the device software platform Amazon is initially targeting. “The Amazon Appstore for Android is not yet big on apps – only some 3,500 will be available at launch – but it nonetheless looks ready to offer worthwhile competition to Google’s own Android market, both for consumers and potentially Android OEMs. Amazon’s buy-once-use-anywhere approach for Android devices is sure to find favor with users who have come to expect multi-screen access to their favorite applications and content via the Web", Cripps said. “Personalized recommendations and other popular Amazon features, such as 1-Click payment options for Amazon account holders, will also help shake up the status quo, as will the new “test drive" facility", he said. Cripps added: “However, more critical in the longer term will be Amazon’s ability to attract major brands and media organizations to its application store – something Google has to date been conspicuously less successful in doing than Apple. This could prove decisive not only to Amazon’s success in this space but could also be the key to Android’s ability to compete on equal terms with Apple in the minds of consumers." — Newsbytes.ph