Will Amazon's Kindle Fire Effect iPad Market?
By siliconindia   |   Wednesday, 28 September 2011, 20:41 IST
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Bangalore: With Amazon launching its long awaited tablet Kindle Fire today, a battle is on the cards challenging the supremacy of iPad in the smartphone market. The new phone will use Android Operating System, and Android is counted among Apple's biggest rivals. While the phone features are not available as yet, the expected traits include touch screen, Amazon store access and streaming movies and shows. The device may be priced around $250, and challenge iPad in price as well. As Amazon looks to replicate the most impressive qualities of Apple, analysts are debating on the implications that Kindlefire will have on the market. Will it be able to outperform the Apple iPad? The iPad has already left several high-tech bodies facing the market door. Research In Motion's PlayBook, Hewlett-Packard's TouchPad, Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Tab and Motorola Mobility Holding's Xoom have all failed to attract mass audiences. Apple has sold about 29 million iPads since the product went on sale early last year and had 68.3percent of the tablet market in the second quarter, according to data tracker IDC. Meanwhile, Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said the Kindle Fire will create a competitor for IPad. The company has the added advantage of millions of people visiting its Amazon site every day, feels Ken Sena, an Amazon analyst. "They have the exclusive benefit of millions of visitors visiting their site daily," he said. Amazon's long standing relationships with consumers would mean that it has access to sensitive information like email address and credit card data. That will assist the company in marketing additional products for its tablet. "There hasn't been anybody in this position for long to present a different alternative," said analyst Michael Gartenberg. Will iPad maul Kindle Fire also or is it going to be vice versa? Only time will tell!

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