Described as an “explosive development in the tablet market,” the holiday season could finally see a two-way race for consumers’ attention as the iPad and Amazon’s Kindle Fire vie for nearly 90 percent of sales. In a survey of North Americans intending to buy a tablet, 65 percent said they plan to buy an iPad, while 22 percent said they would pick the Kindle Fire, according to ChangeWave Research results released Monday. Those percentages may look disparate, but the Kindle Fire is still proving to be a shot across the bow of iPad… and it could soon become a full broadside.
For the first time, a tablet powered by Google’s Android operating system reached double-digit consumer popularity. After the Kindle Fire, the Samsung Galaxy Tab registered a distant third-place with just 4 percent of the ChangeWave survey participants. The strong showing by the Kindle Fire is “a shot across the bow at Apple,” according to the research firm.
The Kindle Fire could actually hit its target early next year. An 8.9-inch Amazon device reportedly will begin production during the second quarter of 2012 as Foxconn — which produces Apple’s iPad and iPhone — becomes the second supplier churning out the Kindle Fire.
But that warning shot may be more a threat to fellow Android tablet manufacturers, the majority of which remain in the cellar with no more than 1 percent of tablet demand in North America. Indeed, the researchers term their finding “a silver lining for Apple, by damaging the tablet market hopes of the remaining competitors in the field.”
Apple “continues to show enormous strength in the tablet market,” ChangeWave announces. Some 74 percent of iPad owners report they are “very satisfied” with the device compared to 49 percent for all other tablet makers combined. Some had questioned whether the Kindle Fire’s introduction could hurt iPad demand. Earlier this month, ChangeWave had reported 26 percent of initial consumers buying the Kindle Fire said they would delay getting an iPad.
In the end, however, the strongest Android tablet could actually turn fellow non-iPad devices into discount devices after the holidays. Starting in January 2012, “several waves of price cuts” are expected as the $199 Kindle Fire and the $99 Barnes & Noble Nook control the market for less-expensive tablets. As for Apple, a third-generation iPad is expected to be unveiled around March 2012, a device believed to be even more impressive than its predecessors, boasting a new, high-density Retina Display.
