By Tracey Lien
Los Angeles Times
(TNS)
Amazon’s hardware division may be down, but it’s not out — at least according to The Wall Street Journal, which reported Tuesday the e-commerce giant is set to release a $50 tablet with a 6-inch screen in time for the holidays.
If true, this would make it one of the least expensive tablets on the market, and half the price of Amazon’s Fire HD 6-inch tablet.
An Amazon spokesperson said the company does not comment on rumor and speculation.
News of the tablet comes shortly after the company reportedly laid off dozens of engineers who worked on its Fire phone from Lab126, Amazon’s secretive hardware development center in Silicon Valley.
Released in July 2014, the Fire phone marked Amazon’s foray into the smartphone market and was notable for an “x-ray” feature used for identifying and finding information about media, and offering a way to easily buy items through Amazon’s online store. The phone was a commercial flop, and Amazon took a $170 million hit from costs associated with it.
Lab126 is also responsible for other Amazon hardware, such as the Kindle and Kindle Fire, Echo and FireTV.
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