The success of the Kindle Fire answers what had been a lingering question about the tablet business: whether consumers wanted tablets, or just iPads. The Kindle Fire's $200 price tag, along with other tablets that saw heavy discounts around Black Friday, are resetting expectations about how much consumers will pay for such a device.
That may bode poorly for manufacturers looking to compete directly against the iPad with more expensive components, larger and brighter displays, and even cellular service. So far, those companies have only seen middling interest in their products.
IHS projects Amazon will ship 3.9 million Kindle Fire tablets in the fourth quarter, giving it 13.8 percent of the global market, well ahead of No. 3 Samsung, which is expected to have 4.8 percent of the market despite offering a wide range of Galaxy Tab tablets. Both are still far behind Apple, which will hold 65.6 percent of the market.
Amazon Kindle Fire projected to be second-most popular tablet
Posted on Monday, December 05 2011 @ 22:19 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
CNET reports market research firm IHS iSuppli is confident that Amazon's Kindle Fire will become the second-most popular tablet on the market, behind only Apple's iPad. The Kindle Fire has been on the market for just two weeks, and according to iSuppli sales may total 3.9 million units this quarter.