Market research shows that Android has the potential to outsell Apple’s popular iPad model by 2016. Apple currently holds the market for tablets, but Amazon’s Android-based Kindle Fire isn’t far behind. Priced at $200, the Kindle is significantly more affordable than the iPad, and becoming one model, along with those put out by Samsung, Barnes & Noble, and other companies, that is steadily increasing in sales, much to Apple’s dismay.
The main reason for the price difference between Amazon’s Fire and Apple’s iPad is that Amazon charges close to the amount it costs them to manufacture the device. Their profits come not from selling the Fire, but from the content that Kindle users buy through Amazon, such as eBooks, movies, music, and apps. This is the main difference between the Fire and the rest of the tablets sold today, even the Android-based models by Samsung and Motorola.
Tom Mainelli, research director of mobile connected devices at IDC, says of the trend,
“As the sole vendor shipping iOS products, Apple will remain dominant in terms of worldwide vendor unit shipments. However, the sheer number of vendors shipping low-priced, Android-based tablets means that Google’s OS will overtake Apple’s in terms of worldwide market share by 2015. We expect iOS to remain the revenue market share leader through the end of our 2016 forecast period and beyond.”
Another analyst stated that, “Not only did (Amazon) ship a lot of units at a very aggressive price, but they actually helped broaden the market in general.” The Kindle Fire is competitive with the iPad, with it’s only potential flaw being that there is no 3G model currently available. The Fire does, however, come with accidental damage protection, whereas Apple is just now releasing that option with the new iPad on March 16th. The Android platform is offered on many other devices besides the Fire, such as Samsung’s Galaxy Tab. This helps operating system’s manufacturer, Google, have a better hold on the market than Apple, as iOS is only available on Apple products.
Do you think that Apple’s share on the tablet market will dwindle because of other Android-based tablets?
