Amazon have announce that they intend on making zero profit on their latest mini tablet offering – the Kindle Fire HD.
The highly successful non HD version of the tablet has been responsible for pushing the smaller 7” tablet market to the mainstream, prompting Apple to enter with its long-awaited and soon-to-be-announced iPad Mini.
Amazon intend to make their money through the sale of software and content on the devices – “We want to make money when people use our devices, not when people buy our devices.”
Jeff Bezos revealed that hardware would all be sold at cost, making the Kindle Fire HD a break even product. This is not an entirely new move within the electronics industry but it will certainly do much to aggravate companies such as Apple, who are charging as much as £659 for their tablets.
This news comes as Amazon announce their new book-lending service that will be test launched in the UK, Germany and France. The service will enable users to borrow one book per month from a library of 20,000 eBooks. The service will cost £49a year as part of the Amazon Prime service.
Amazon Prime allows users to access free next-day delivery on most items, with the logic being that online shoppers will be less likely to go elsewhere for their needs.