Amazon says Kindle Fire takes 22% of US tablet market, won't disclose sales
Amazon on Thursday issued a press release boasting that its Kindle Fire has accounted for 22 percent of tablet sales in the U.S., but still did not publicly state exactly how many tablets the company has sold.
The press release also noted that the current Kindle Fire is out of stock at Amazon's website, but with a media event scheduled for next week, it's widely believed that the online retailer is simply winding down inventory before launching a new model. The event will be held next Thursday at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif.
The Seattle-based operation also boasted that the Kindle Fire has been the No. 1 best-selling product on Amazon since its launch less than a year ago. Ten of the top 10 best selling items on Amazon have also been Kindle devices and content.
"We?re grateful to the millions of customers who have made Kindle Fire the most successful product launch in the history of Amazon," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO. "This has been a big year for digital products on Amazon—all of the top 10 sellers on Amazon.com since Kindle Fire launched just less than a year ago are digital products. Kindle Fire is sold out, but we have an exciting roadmap ahead—we will continue to offer our customers the best hardware, the best prices, the best customer service, the best cross-platform interoperability, and the best content ecosystem."
Though the Kindle Fire made a splash when it debuted last year, the tablet market is still dominated by Apple's iPad. The latest data from IDC released earlier this month found that the iPad accounted for 68 percent of all tablets shipped in the second quarter of 2012.
The Kindle Fire got off to a strong start last holiday season, but demand for the device quickly collapsed, as customer satisfaction with Amazon's low-priced device was about half that of Apple's third-generation iPad, according to research from ChangeWave.
With the Kindle Fire now nearly a year old, the device faces stiff competition from Google's new Nexus 7. The Google device, built by Asus, features the same 7-inch screen size as well as an identical $199 price, but has a much faster quad-core processor and runs Jelly Bean, the latest version of the Android mobile operating system.
Rumors have suggested that Amazon plans to continue offering the existing Kindle Fire at a reduced price of $149, while a new model will take its place at the $199 price point. One report issued in July claimed Amazon will launch at least three new Kindle Fire models this fall: an entry level device with a 1,024-by-600-pixel display and no camera, a 1,280-by-800 model with a camera, and a 1,280-by-800 version with both a camera and 4G LTE wireless connectivity.
Apple, meanwhile, is rumored to introduce its own smaller tablet this fall — a so-called "iPad mini" with a 7.85-inch display. The company is expected to hold a media event to unveil the device in October.
The press release also noted that the current Kindle Fire is out of stock at Amazon's website, but with a media event scheduled for next week, it's widely believed that the online retailer is simply winding down inventory before launching a new model. The event will be held next Thursday at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif.
The Seattle-based operation also boasted that the Kindle Fire has been the No. 1 best-selling product on Amazon since its launch less than a year ago. Ten of the top 10 best selling items on Amazon have also been Kindle devices and content.
"We?re grateful to the millions of customers who have made Kindle Fire the most successful product launch in the history of Amazon," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO. "This has been a big year for digital products on Amazon—all of the top 10 sellers on Amazon.com since Kindle Fire launched just less than a year ago are digital products. Kindle Fire is sold out, but we have an exciting roadmap ahead—we will continue to offer our customers the best hardware, the best prices, the best customer service, the best cross-platform interoperability, and the best content ecosystem."
Though the Kindle Fire made a splash when it debuted last year, the tablet market is still dominated by Apple's iPad. The latest data from IDC released earlier this month found that the iPad accounted for 68 percent of all tablets shipped in the second quarter of 2012.
The Kindle Fire got off to a strong start last holiday season, but demand for the device quickly collapsed, as customer satisfaction with Amazon's low-priced device was about half that of Apple's third-generation iPad, according to research from ChangeWave.
With the Kindle Fire now nearly a year old, the device faces stiff competition from Google's new Nexus 7. The Google device, built by Asus, features the same 7-inch screen size as well as an identical $199 price, but has a much faster quad-core processor and runs Jelly Bean, the latest version of the Android mobile operating system.
Rumors have suggested that Amazon plans to continue offering the existing Kindle Fire at a reduced price of $149, while a new model will take its place at the $199 price point. One report issued in July claimed Amazon will launch at least three new Kindle Fire models this fall: an entry level device with a 1,024-by-600-pixel display and no camera, a 1,280-by-800 model with a camera, and a 1,280-by-800 version with both a camera and 4G LTE wireless connectivity.
Apple, meanwhile, is rumored to introduce its own smaller tablet this fall — a so-called "iPad mini" with a 7.85-inch display. The company is expected to hold a media event to unveil the device in October.
Comments
Can anybody do a sales estimate based on "22% share of U.S. market?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleInsider
Amazon on Thursday issued a press release boasting that its Kindle Fire has accounted for 22 percent of tablet sales in the U.S., but still did not publicly state exactly how many tablets the company has sold.
That says it all...
"Yeah, we sold that many. Yep. We did."
"…"
"No, really, we did. We have papers to prove it. On my desk, back at the office. One copy, so we can't risk showing you."
Ad how are they coming up with 22%? Percent of what? Since Apple is the only company to really provide sales figures how do we know how much the US market is?
Perhaps they mean 22% of Amazon tablet sales in the US. They are certainly in a position to measure that, but not to assume that it reflects the overall US market.
Uh-huh.
Meanwhile . . .
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/06/05/demand_for_kindle_fire_collapses_as_apples_ipad_continues_to_dominate.html
Well considering no one buys Android tablets at all, and iPad is supposedly what? 70% of the tablet space, I guess it's *possible*. I do see them a lot when I fly, not much otherwise. Meh.
Because Amazon is playing the same game as Samsung. When they're trying to make it look like they're very successful, they lead the press on with all sorts of teasers about how great their sales are and never correct the analysts' estimates.
Then, when they're sued and have to pay a per-device royalty, they publish the real numbers which are only a small percentage of the numbers they let everyone believe just a few weeks earlier.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
"Yeah, we sold that many. Yep. We did."
"…"
"No, really, we did. We have papers to prove it. On my desk, back at the office. One copy, so we can't risk showing you."
"My dog ate it. Honest."
For me I look at the Fire as more of an E-Reader that does some light web-sufing than I do a full-on tablet like the iPad. I have both the Fire and iPad but mainly use my Fire as an e-reader than anything else so in that regard I'm quite pleased with it. When I want to get some good work done then I use the iPad.
According to one estimate,
http://paidcontent.org/2012/08/30/amazon-says-kindle-fire-makes-up-22-of-u-s-tablet-sales/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OmMalik+%28GigaOM%3A+Tech%29
Amazon sold 6.1 Kindle Fires in 9 months.
Not particularly impressive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AppleGreen
According to one estimate,
http://paidcontent.org/2012/08/30/amazon-says-kindle-fire-makes-up-22-of-u-s-tablet-sales/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OmMalik+%28GigaOM%3A+Tech%29
Amazon sold 6.1 Kindle Fires in 9 months.
Not particularly impressive.
"6.1 Kindle Fires"? I didn't know you could sell 0.1.
I've never seen a Kindle Fire out in the wild. I may have seen my first in-use non-iPad tablet the other day at the airport, but I could be mistaken.
iPads? I see those all the time. Airports. Bars. Friends' couches. Cruise ships. Airplanes. Meetings. Etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PotatoLeekSoup
"6.1 Kindle Fires"? I didn't know you could sell 0.1.
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Perhaps the .1 represents a new screen size. Just part of the big-Android-phone small-Android-tablet trend.
#next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Bulls hit!
BTW, has anyone heard anything about how well the Google Nexus 7 is selling... it seems awful quiet!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum
Bulls hit!
BTW, has anyone heard anything about how well the Google Nexus 7 is selling... it seems awful quiet!
...selling...quiet... Yeah, they go together.
Originally Posted by Napoleon_PhoneApart
"My dog ate it. Honest."
"We threw it on the Fire. It's growing like mad!"
This seems more likely, based on their wording.
I'm guessing Amazon doesn't sell many iPads, instead selling cheap Asus, etc. type tablets, of which the Fire is the best seller with 22% of all their sales.
Piece of junk. I know one person who has one. He is, admittedly, the cheapest man in the world.
He shares it with his wife and kids, who complain about it constantly.
He doesn't care, because its cheap.
Why should anybody believe what these unreliable Android makers claim, as long as they are afraid to release the sales figures?
Show proof, or STFU.