Amazon Fire tablet hits China

Dec 7, 2015Updated May 18, 20251 min read

Amazon has launched its first ever tablet in the Chinese market. The online retail giant has made the Amazon Fire tablet available in China. It initially launched in the West back in September with an eye-catching £50 price tag.

With a price of 499 RMB, the Amazon Fire is pretty much identically priced in this new market.

Amazon has had to find a new search engine partner for the China launch. Google is unable to operate in the country, so Amazon is partnering with top Chinese search engine Baidu to help power its tablet.

Baidu will also provide apps through its 91Wireless Android app store, as well as online video through iQiyi – China’s second biggest online video service.

Amazon doesn’t enjoy anything like the same market position as it enjoys in the US and UK over in China. It’s online retail business is well behind such local giants as Alibaba and JD.com.

It will be interesting, then, to see how the Amazon Fire tablet fares in China – especially as its low price is nothing special in a market filled with affordable, decent-quality Android tablets.

Still, the extensive backing of China’s top search engine should at least start the Amazon Fire tablet off on something like a level playing field.

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Mei Ling Tan

Contributor · RetailNews.asia

Mei Ling Tan is the Editor of Retail News Asia, where she leads the editorial team in delivering in-depth coverage of Asia’s dynamic retail landscape. With over a decade of experience in business journalism, Mei Ling is known for her sharp analysis, deep industry insights, and commitment to uncovering the stories behind Asia’s most innovative retail brands. Before joining Retail News Asia, Mei Ling held senior reporting roles at regional business publications, covering everything from consumer trends to digital transformation in retail. A graduate of the National University of Singapore with a degree in Communications and New Media, she combines journalistic integrity with a strong understanding of evolving market forces. Outside the newsroom, Mei Ling is a frequent speaker at industry panels and a mentor for young journalists.

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