Amazon to be #3 in Mobile?

The New York Post is finally catching up to the Boy Genius Report (BGR) and posted a story discussing the potential release of two Android tablets from Amazon. I was going to find the link on the New York Post but their site is disgusting as are all of News Corps' sites.

I don't own an iPad. I think they're awesome and would love one but it's just too much to spend on a luxury item for me right now. Many smart people knew the iPad was going to be a homerun for Apple. It's pretty funny to read all the articles about Android taking market share from Apple, while I guess it could technically be true it's still nonsensical ... the tablet market is expanding exponentially, even the most bullish financial analysts are still greatly underestimating its eventual impact. Apple is going to sell a ridiculous number of iPads quarter after quarter for the foreseeable future. There will still be plenty of demand left over for several Android vendors to sell millions of devices of their own.

With HP's announcement that they will be shuttering the webOS business, the race for #3 in mobile is wide open. Anyone over 30 probably says "Microsoft" without much thought. Microsoft has the cash and the desire to be a long-term player in mobile. Microsoft, however, has a serious problem in that the very foundation of their entire business is built on a reality that no longer exists. The desktop is no longer the center of computing. History would suggest Microsoft has peaked along with the desktop. If Microsoft were to not only be the king of the desktop but also become the king of Internet services or the mobile web, Steve Ballmer would be known as the most effective executive in business history. Even Microsoft's biggest fans would find that far fetched. I don't think there's anyone better to run Microsoft, I also don't think there's any chance they'll move beyond their desktop roots.

So, if it's not Microsoft, who becomes a meaningful #3 in mobile? I think it will be Amazon. Amazon doesn't even sell a phone? Neither did Apple or Google. Apple and Google are the leading mobile Internet firms. Who's #3? Amazon. Most people's concept of a "phone" is terribly outdated. As is their definition of a computer. I make and take all my calls during the day on Gmail. I communicate via email, text, status update or messaging much more often than I talk on the phone. The most phone-like feature of an iPhone is its name.

BGR thinks Amazon might release two Android-powered tablets a dual-core and a quad-core called the "Coyote" and "Hollywood" respectively and priced accordingly and "hundreds less than an iPad".

Amazon already has the ecosystem going for it. They are the leading online retailer, they have their music storage service, the Kindle HTML5 App, their Android App store, and their #1 item is already a mobile device.

Everyone seems to think Amazon's Android implementation will be highly customized. Hopefully they get it right. Android is awesome and Amazon is awesome. Why take everything great out of Android to add in everything great from Amazon rather than combining everything great from both? A tablet that has the best from Google and Amazon would be outstanding!