Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is in charge of the most successful e-commerce site this world has ever seen. He’s made a brilliant move into digital video and put Amazon right in the middle of a massive competition between the world’s largest technology companies.

And yet, he can’t seem to build a tablet, or even a phone, that competes with other industry giants or appeals to young tech users.

So what should Bezos do? Amazon has three options. It can either up the ante on its tablets, get out of the market altogether or tap into the opportunity of changing its target demographic.

The company went with option three. This holiday season, the company will release a 6-inch tablet with a price tag of $50, opening up the possibility of marketing a tablet that is affordable for the average college student’s budget.

Although this move down-market carries some risk, it’s minimal considering the state of the tablet industry. Amazon currently holds less than 1 percent of the U.S. tablet market. In comparison, Apple and Samsung combine to control 42 percent of it, meaning Amazon is losing. Badly.

This is a desperate decision, but it’s not without potential. A company with the resources Amazon has can dominate the low-cost tablet market. If you search for tablets in the range of $25 to $50 on, ironically, Amazon.com, you will see a lot of names you probably don’t recognize.

Granted, these companies might make some great, cheap tablets, but assuming all things are equal, I’d wager you’re going with the tech giant over the unknown nine times out of 10. If my bet is correct, Amazon’s tablet might become the new go-to for college students.

While the features of this tablet are still highly speculative at this point, they could make for a low-cost entertainment device for young people. Instead of lugging around a laptop all day, students could slip this into their backpack for taking notes, responding to emails and even just playing games in between classes.

Paying $250 for a tablet is a gross overpayment for being able to perform simple functions such as these. But, for $50, the product could become a favorite amongst millennials.

Corey Takahashi, an assistant professor in the magazine department who helped launch the Newhouse Mobile Magazine Competition, envisions scenarios where students would use this device. Albeit with the caveat that he has no idea whether or not the product itself is actually going to be successful.

“For a college student, I also could imagine using this cheap tablet on the bus, or in bad weather, or to pass around media with others in a dorm room,” he said. “I think a smartphone is too personal and expensive for that type of sharing, but a low-cost tablet would suit that purpose well.”

Essentially, this tablet may be so affordable that students may feel comfortable knowing that if it gets dropped in a puddle or stolen, they are able to replace it a whole lot easier than they would if the same thing happened to their iPhone.

There is still a lot to be determined regarding this tablet, but assuming it isn’t a full-blown disaster, Amazon has the chance build a product that fits the needs and lifestyle of the average college student.

Paul Sarconi is a junior broadcast and digital journalism major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at pjsarcon@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @paulsarconi.

Published on September 16, 2015 at 12:30 am