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If you ask iSuppli (and many watching the market do just that), the Kindle Fire is really starting to make some waves across the sea of tablets available to consumers these days. It’s only been two weeks since they started shipping and already it seems people are embracing them and in many cases buying the heck out of them.
If analysts are accurate in their expectations that Amazon will be able to announce having shipped over 3.9 million units in these last few months of 2011, the Kindle Fire will hold 13.8 percent of the tablet market. This puts them in second place behind the iPad that sits at 65.6% but well ahead of the 4.8 percent being held by third-place Samsung.
There are a lot of questions yet to be answered though, and I don’t think many surveys and reports are saying them out loud. Sure they are selling oodles of Kindle Fire tablets, but consumers have only had them in their hands for 2 weeks (at most). Say what you want about the iPad, they have maintained the top spot for months (and years now) since it was released. It’s always going to be a bit misleading to release a device during the holiday season when sales are generally higher. It will be interesting to see if they can maintain growth and still sell millions of units in the first and second quarters of 2012. Oh, and with an iPad 3 in the works for release next year I sure hope Amazon is gearing up for a Kindle Fire v.2 already…
I maintain that while both tablets are market leaders, they aren’t in the same market. The Kindle Fire is an ideal light-duty tablet for those who want an eReader but may also want to play around a little on the Internet and have some access (albeit not unrestricted) to a well-stocked app store. I also believe that there is room for both types of devices to succeed in the eyes and hands of consumers as they appeal to two different demographics.
via : Padgadget