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Verizon’s Latest Pitch for Android Tablets: “They Have Kindle”

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Though it may not be Earth-shaking news, we just came across this back to school flyer from Verizon, and we have to laugh at the imaginative tactics Big Red is using in an attempt to move some Android tablets. The XOOM that is the centerpiece of this flyer has Kindle plastered on the screen for all to see.

While there is an obvious connection between “Back to School” and reading, it’s interesting that Verizon is pushing the Kindle capabilities so hard. When you consider that an actual Kindle can be had for as little as $100, Verizon’s gaudily highlighting a $600 (on-contract) tablet for its eReading capabilities is worth a chuckle – and a sign of desperation in the face of abysmal sales.

But wait – the Kindle connection didn’t show up just once. Digging further into the flyer, the 7″ Galaxy Tab gets the Kindle treatment as well (just in case parents didn’t get that Samsung’s slate runs the Kindle app as well):

You would think Amazon had released their new tablet already, the way Verizon is pushing the connection. Apparently someone at Big Red is looking at the Back-to-School time of year as an opportunity.

You can’t blame Verizon for trying, but is any student (or parent) in her right mind really going to cough up $600 and two years of monthly payments on a XOOM – just because it has a Kindle app? When a $100 Kindle or even a $500 iPad (with a much larger tablet app library) will offer the same thing, we don’t think this latest tactic will fare any better than their previous declaration that “your wife will love the Tegra 2 processor and its 4G LTE upgradability.”

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. DNel

    07/28/2011 at 3:17 pm

    I was following you all the way until you brought in the iPad as an alternative when the entire article was for purchasing a Kindle for $100 instead of a Xoom $600 4G on contract (or Galaxy Tab). The iPad is no cheaper and should have been left out.

  2. Alain Chappaz

    07/28/2011 at 4:42 pm

    This is a big mistake for 2 reasons. (1) What are they going to do when Amazon releases its own tablet? As a strategy, it’s extremely short-sighted at best (2) someone hasn’t done their homework, otherwise they would know that Kindle ***works better*** on both the iPad and the HP Touchpad. Think I’m kidding? The Honeycomb version does *not* have a two-page view in landscape mode….

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