Amazon set to sell 5 million Kindle Fire tablets in Q4

We said it from the very start, but according to analysts, it looks as if the new Amazon Kindle Fire is on track to cause a serious dent in the Apple dominated tablet market. Citigroup Analyst Mark Mahaney spoke to Tabtimes.com and he predicted that Amazon will ship 5 million Kindle Fire tablets in the fourth quarter.

5 million is a very strong start for Amazon, if they meet the predicted sales figures. Mahaney went a stage further saying that they could potentially “reach 12 million units in 2012 and 20 million units in 2013.”

If these figures are close to accurate, then Amazon will claim 15 percent of the market, positioning the company in the number 2 slot, behind Apple, and ahead of Samsung. Apple currently have around 75 percent of the tablet market.

Is the Kindle Fire any good? We haven't yet spent any time with one, however we have been reading many positive comments from americian journalists. Larry Magid at the Mercury News for instance said “The Kindle Fire is no iPad killer. But at less than half the price, it's definitely an iPad wounder. I own an iPad and a Kindle Fire and when it comes to what I do most with the devices, I don't have a strong preference between the two.

True, the iPad 2 has a larger screen, a camera, a more intuitive user interface, longer battery life and a much better design than the Kindle Fire. But as much as I appreciate those factors, I mostly use tablets to consume content. And when I'm deep into reading a book or watching a movie, I'm not thinking about the device's industrial design — I'm focused on what I'm consuming.

I'm not planning to give away my Kindle Fire because I find myself using it almost as often as my iPad 2. If I feel like reading or watching a movie at home, I'm likely to grab the iPad or the MacBook. But if I'm headed to the gym or going out for coffee, I'm more likely to grab the Kindle Fire because it fits into my pocket. It's bit of a stretch, but I can get the device into the front pocket of most of my pants and, of course, it can easily be slipped into a backpack.”

This view has been reiterated by many reviewers and blog writers. Amazon are losing money on every Kindle Fire sold, with estimates being around $10. They will make money back on sales of books, video, applications and other content from their online store infrastructure.

Kitguru says: Is the Kindle Fire going to hurt Apple long term? We don't think it will oust them from the top spot, but at the price, it will certainly attract an audience who find the iPad just too expensive.

Become a Patron!