Amazon is expected to ship 3.9 million Kindle Fire tablets during the last three months of 2014, the first quarter the product goes on sale, according to preliminary projection from IHS.
The number will give Amazon a 13.8-percent share of the global tablet market in the fourth quarter, surpassing the 4.8 percent held by No. 3 player Samsung. Apple had a commanding 65.6 percent market share.
"Nearly two years after Apple Inc. rolled out the iPad, a competitor has finally developed an alternative which looks like it might have enough of Apple's secret sauce to succeed," Rhoda Alexander, senior manager of tablet and monitor research for IHS, said in a statement.
"Initial market response strongly suggests that Amazon, with the Kindle Fire, has found the right combination of savvy pricing, astute marketing, accessible content and an appropriate business model, positioning the Kindle Fire to appeal to a brand-new set of media tablet buyers," she said.
IHS analysts noted that with a price tag of US$199, the Kindle Fire has set a new bar for pricing, bringing the tablet within reach of a larger portion of the buying public.
By Ruchi Singh
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
