Even with sales estimates that creep closer to reality, Amazon’s Kindle tablet is poised to become the best-selling Android tablet to date when following its launch later this fall. In a note to investors, Barclays analyst Anthony DiClemente offered up what is seemingly a more realistic sales projection than prior estimates: 2 million units in 2011. An earlier report claimed Amazon is looking to sell 4 million Kindle tablets this year, and Forrester went even further to project sales of up to 5 million units. With most other tablet vendors thought by some to be spinning their wheels, Amazon’s tablet could quickly become the top contender in a market dominated by Apple’s iPad. Read on for more.
According to a report from earlier this month, Amazon’s premier Kindle tablet will launch this coming November for $250. If accurate, Amazon’s offering will be available for less than two months this year, but holiday shopping and an extremely aggressive price point could certainly see sales climb into the millions. HP’s fire sale on its failed TouchPad tablet proved that consumers are eager for an affordable tablet option. While $250 is a far cry from $99, it still undercuts Apple’s iPad by at least 50% and could pique the interest of legions of holiday shoppers already familiar with Amazon’s Kindle eReaders and the retail giant’s range of digital services.
DiClemente thinks adoption of Amazon’s affordable tablet will remain solid next year, with 6.4 million devices expects to sell in 2012; and as sales climb into the high single-digit millions, Amazon’s tablet could become the top-selling Android tablet in the segment’s short history. The analyst also believes Amazon’s 10-inch offering will become a reality next year, and Amazon will sell 1.5 million units on top of sales of its 7-inch slate. BGR exclusively reported back in May that Amazon is working on a second higher-end quad-core tablet codenamed “Hollywood.”
