The Apple iPad 2 finally has some real competition. This as the Amazon Kindle Fire, just now only launched September 28th 2011AD, a good two (2) months prior, is now ranging up behind the Apple iPad 2, just now visible in Apple CEO Tim Cook's rear-view mirror.
Six million (6,000,000) Amazon Kindle Fire-sides strong projected for the Fourth Quarter of 2011AD compared to fifteen million (15,000,000) for the Apple iPad 2 as per the analysis of DisplaySearch in the article “Amazon Kindle Fire shipments upped to 6 million in quarter”, published November 18, 2011 4:09 PM PST Brooke CrothersCNET News.
Interstingly, this is a conservative estimate on the part of the analyst Displaysearch: those numbers, which are mre projections, may increase further during the busy Christmas 2011AD shoping period for BOTH rivals.
The words of Rhoda Alexander, IHS senior manager of tablet and monitor research in the article “Amazon Kindle Fire set to take second in 2011 tablet race”, published DECEMBER 2, 2011 BY ANDREW COUTS, DigitalTrends are particularly encouraging fortelling of the Amazon Kindle Fire's potential, quote: “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”.
To put this in perspective, this makes the Amazon Tablet with is lacklustre specs when compared to the Apple iPad No. 2 oin the Tablet market after only two (2) months, as per the musings of Rob Enderle of DigitalTrends in his opinion piece entited “The Goldilocks Tablet: Why Amazon's 7-inch Kindle Fire is 'just right'”, published DECEMBER 3, 2011 BY ROB ENDERLE, DigitalTrends.
Suddenly the strange little company that prides itself on being EMC3 – Earth’s Most Customer Centric Company and bending over backwards with its near stellar customer service doesn't look lie such an ugly duckling anymore. This in a pond dominated mainly by tech-centric companies that sport Tablets with specs galore but no compelling reason to buy what are effectively over-sized touch screen slate computers.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is definitely not holding back any punches either. Amazon is taking a hit of nearly US$2.70 per Tablet with its price of US$199 just to break into the market against the Apple iPad, as per the analysis of IHS iSuppli as in the article “Amazon takes a slight loss on each Kindle Fire, study says”, published November 18, 2011 6:15 AM PST CNET News.
A to Z just about begins to describe Amazon's strategy as they may even allow for Grocery shopping from the Amazon Kindle Fire, a concept replicable in Jamaica as opined in my blog article entitled “Amazon intros Grocery shopping via their Kindle Fire - Movado Duh Road from the Couch”.
So at US$199, the price is indeed right, an earlier conclusion of mine in my Geezam blog article entitled “Amazon lights a Kindle Fire as a Gladiator worthy of the Apple iPad” and “Kindle Fire vs Nook Color and Apple iPad 2 – Despite the Specs the Price is Still Right".
That grocery shopping bit may have some credence on the ground as well. Analyst Parkes Associates in the article “Kindle Fire getting shoppers hotter than iPad?”, published November 22, 2011 5:08 PM PSTCNET News suggest that the Amazon Kindle Fire has its support split along an age divide among two thousand (2000) households interviewed as follows:
- Generation X [ages 28 to 45] age prefer the Amazon Kindle Fire over the Apple iPad
- Affluent buyers are mainly going after the Apple iPad (like really?)
- 51% favored the Amazon Kindle Fire over the Apple iPad
- 62% of shoppers are most likely to purchase the Apple iPad
- 38% of shoppers are most likely to purchase the Amazon Kindle Fire, placing them firmly in the No. 2 spot
Analyst ChangeWave brings in the noise, BackStreet Boys style in the article After iPad, Kindle Fire most desired Tablet, study finds”, published November 21, 2011 5:38 AM PST CNET News , with similar very compelling statistics that suggest the same future turnaround trend in the Tablet market:
- 62% of future shoppers plan to buy an Apple iPad
- 22% of future shoppers plan to buy an Amazon Kindle Fire
So not only is the Christmas looking bright for fans of Amazon but you pets have something to look forward too as well. This as Couch Shopping for yourself or your pets thanks to Amazon's September 2010AD US$550 million acquisition of Quidsi, owners of websites Diaper.com, Soap.com and BeautyBar.com and the launch of efficient robot-operated Pets.com appropriately named Wag.com as per my blog article entitled “Amazon's Wag.com Social Network for Pets - Quidsi in the Flight of the Navigator” is very much possible via the Amazon Kindle Fire.
Amazon's Strategy of tailoring Google Android to suite their online Retail business instead of a generic regurgitation of the Android interface is working and is an admirable concept other Tablet makers can emulate. Specs is not all in a Tablet; it has to have some practical use other than just streaming movies, reading books and playing games.
Tablet makers partnering with Amazon's competing online retailers to offer deep discounts off their Tablets' prices in order to drive sales seems a great point of reference to start.
Especially in light of the misfortune now visited upon RIM, now losing sales on discounted and unsold RIM PlayBook Tablets as per the article “RIM loses half a billion dollars due to unsold and discountedPlayBooks”, published DECEMBER 2, 2011 BY JEFFREY VAN CAMP, DigitalTrends.
Motorola Xoom also fell prey to the same fate in early 2011AD with a dearth of advertising and marketing that was severely out of sync with the Engineering that went into making the product as note in my Geezam blog article entitled “Motorola Xoom - 101 on How to Beat the Apple iPad”.
So Google Android Tablet makers beware!
Curated tailored versions of Google Android married with a online shopping experience seems definitely to be a formula that both Apple and Amazon are using to their advantage. It makes the other Tablet makers appear to just be taking advantage of the furore over these otherwise successful Tablets to sell their own copycat versions with nothing to offer save for great specs and ports missing from the above famous competition.
Suddenly the London 2012 Olympics slate for a July 27th 2012AD show-stopping launch typical of the British seems like a mere sideshow to the looming face-off between Apple and Amazon. The coming of Christ, as Apple and Amazon appear to be, is now locked in a DeathRace to the finish, each with their own compelling online storefront experiences to entice costumers in a race to the Finish Line.
But what of reports of an Amazon smartphone as per the article “Will Amazon produce a Kindle phone?”, published October 20, 2011 3:42 PM PDT by David Carnoy, CNET News? Another blog article is in the works as soon as definitive word surfaces of its existence.
In the mean time Apple and Amazon.....Live Long and Prosper.
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