193 days

Athima Chansanchai

Demand for Amazon Kindle Fire threatens iPad domination

Anticipation for the Amazon Kindle Fire is running so hot that it could threaten the domination the iPad has enjoyed in the tablet space, especially with Amazon increasing its production a second time based on pre-orders.

Retrevo, a consumer electronics review and shopping site, conducted a survey of more than 1,000 people in October. Results showed 69 percent interested in buying a tablet this holiday season. Of those, 44 percent were considering buying Amazon's $199 would-be iPad killer instead of the iPad. (But the same percentage also said they didn't know enough about it. If you're one of those people, read the links below!) About 12 percent remained loyal to the iPad.

The survey took place before the Nook Tablet was announced, but as a competitive system that will be promoted hard at all Barnes & Noble bookstores and other retailers, too, it's likely to draw a decent share of demand away from both during the holidays.

The research also shows that once you have a tablet, you may be more likely to buy another one: 27 percent of current tablet owners said they were planning on getting an Amazon Kindle Fire this holiday season, compared to 12 percent who had never owned a tablet. Twenty percent of existing tablet owners would buy an iPad (vs. 10 percent who had never owned a tablet).

To meet the heightened demand, Amazon has increased manufacturing orders of its tablet from 4 million to 5 million, reported Digitimes. It had reportedly already increased to 4 million up from 3.5 million. Right after the device was available to pre-order, 2,000 were being bought every hour, beating the pre-sale pace of the iPad and iPad 2. A projected 2.5 million will have been sold before Nov. 15, when they actually start going out to an eager public.

But the Kindle Fire still has a long way to go to usurp the iPad, which was expected to retain a 61 percent market share among tablets, with roughly 36 million sold since it debuted in April 2010. The late summer/early fall proved to be a big boon for Apple, as 11 million iPads and iPad 2s were snapped up in the third quarter.

More stories:

• Live chat: Kindle Fire vs. Nook Tablet vs. iPad
• Amazon's Kindle Fire apps show Apple-like strategy
• Barnes & Noble confirms Nook Tablet for $249
• Report: Amazon selling 2,000 Kindle Fires every hour
• Tablet war 2011: Nook vs. Kindle vs. iPad
• Amazon's Kindle Fire is a $199 Android tablet

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