Amazon’s Kindle Fire Edges Up in the Tablet Race
Amazon doesn’t disclose Kindle Fire sales data, but that hasn’t stopped market intelligence companies from attempting to quantify them anyway. The latest to do so, IDC, figures second-quarter Kindle Fire shipments in the United States were decent enough to give Amazon a third-place ranking in the global tablet market, behind Samsung and iPad juggernaut Apple.
Amazon shipped 1.2 million Kindle Fires in the second quarter of 2012, according to IDC, enough to give it a 5 percent market share. But that’s about half the 9.6 percent share captured by Samsung in the same period, and a pittance compared to the 68.2 percent owned by Apple. So, while the Fire clearly has picked up some traction, it’s obviously struggling to gain footing in a tablet market that’s more aptly described as an iPad market. That said, it’s important to note that the Fire is currently available in the U.S. only.
That may change later this year when Amazon introduces the next iteration of the Fire. As AllThingsD reported in early July, the company is expected to debut a new version of the device in the third quarter of this year; it will be thinner and lighter than the original, and will feature a built-in camera and a much-improved display.