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Kindle Fire vs. iPad heats up for holiday shoppers (survey)

Summary: It's going to be a battle this holiday season as many shoppers are turning towards the Kindle Fire instead of an iPad.

Rachel King

By for Between the Lines |

To buy a Kindle Fire or an iPad? That is the question on the minds of many consumers this holiday season, according to new research from consumer electronics shopping site Retrevo.com.

According to the survey, more current and non-current tablet owners replied that they are planning to buy a Kindle Fire over an iPad in the next couple of months. Here's the breakdown:

  • 20 percent of tablet owners said yes, an iPad
  • 10 percent of people said yes, an iPad
  • 27 percent of tablet owners said yes, the Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet
  • 12 percent of non-tablet owners said, yes, the Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet

Then, participants were asked if they would consider buying the 7-inch Amazon tablet for $199 instead of a 9.7-inch iPad 2, which starts at $499, this holiday season.

The answer is really explained perfectly and pointedly in this graphic:

Nearly half of the survey participants said they would at least consider buying a Kindle Fire over an iPad -- but that doesn't mean that they actually will.

Nevertheless, the Kindle Fire's strength (before it is even released this Friday) in this report could be attributed to a few points. First, there is the price. Obviously $199 is a more affordable present than $499.

Then there's the screen size. Although there have been questions about a 7-inch tablet market in the past, there have also been questions about whether or not any tablet can compete with the iPad.

The answer is obviously yes to both debates: there is room for 7-inch tablets and the iPad has serious competition now -- regardless of the argument that the Kindle Fire creates a new, lower-end tablet space that wouldn't compete with the iPad.

Funny enough, Retrevo.com also predicts that Apple will get more competition from the likes of Amazon and Barnes & Noble with the new Nook Tablet rather than other Android-based tablets made by Samsung and Motorola.

For reference, this survey is based on the responses from over 1,000 distributed across gender, age, income and location in the United States in October 2011.

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Topics: Hardware, iPad, Mobility

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35 comments
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  • Ha ha

    <ul><i>Funny enough, Retrevo.com also predicts that Apple will get more competition from the likes of Amazon and Barnes & Noble</i></ul><p>Why is that "funny enough"? People have been saying for months that this market is about content, not who has the "hot box," and that Amazon was going to be a force because of all the content they've lined up.

    That said, any poll that asks people, "Do you plan to buy the $199 thing or the $499 thing?" while treating the items as otherwise identical will produce exactly the result we'd expect. Let's wait until at least a few people actually have a Kindle Fire and can tell us something other than, "You get what you pay for."
    Robert Hahn
    Reply Vote

    • It is funny that this side found 27% of tablet owners who want Kindle Fire

      @Robert Hahn: like 3/4 of all tablets out there are iPads.

      So this site says that all of non-iPad tablet owners want to buy Kindle Fire and maybe even some iPad owners?

      Useless survey.
      dderss
      Reply Vote

      • wrong conclusion

        @dderss that 27% includes iPad owners who think a smaller reader is worth $200 so they don't always have to carry their iPad which really isn't as good for the job
        archangel9999
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Kindle Fire vs. iPad heats up for holiday shoppers (survey)

        @dderss That doesn't make sense. This whole article is kind of silly. The kindle is not an iPad. Amazon said specifically that their tablet is not competition for Apple. It's mostly a platform for Amazon stuff. Not a general purpose machine. As archangel9999 says, the statement says that 27% of TABLET OWNERS want a Kindle. That may mean that of all the people who already HAVE an iPad, 27% want a Kindle too. I have a desktop PC but I also have a netbook. Is that something astonishing? Not really. Some people have an iPad and an iPhone. They both run the same APPS. Now, if I was a person who liked to read stuff aside from manuals, I might want to buy a Kindle with eInk. Why? Most of the other readers are useless if you are sitting out on the beach or by a pool in direct sunlight. I know my netbook and my phone are primary examples. But eInk means there is no glare and it can be read in bright sun.

        I think you are thinking that they said that 27% of everyone wants a Kindle Fire rather than an iPad. It didn't say that.
        hforman@...
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Kindle Fire vs. iPad heats up for holiday shoppers (survey)

      @Robert Hahn

      Well, I'm getting a Fire instead of a full blown tablet. Why? It is good enough. $200 is the maximum point I'll spend on a phone, tablet or netbook. Past that, I've got much more capable computers that can do the job, and do a whole lot more. If I'm wanting to read a magazine or a book, it's more convenient on a Fire than on my laptop. But if the Fire was $500? Screw it, I'll read it on the phone or the laptop. If the Fire was just an e-book reader, then I'd reject it then as well. But it can get to my Amazon Prime vids, surf the web, and review documents. So it is versatile enough to justify spending the money on that device. iPad's, Xooms, and the like are all too pricey for what you get. Are they better? Yes, to be sure. Are they $300 better? No.

      Here's my delineation of what I use the tech for:
      1) Phone - When I'm on the go and traveling LIGHT
      2) Tablet - when I'm kinda sorta on the go (waiting rooms, visiting relatives, appliance repair manuals, etc etc) or in bed reading.
      3) Laptop - when my butt is planted in the sofa watching the tube, or when needing a bonafide PC "in the field".
      4) Desktop - when doing heavy document and website work, heavy web usage and research, multimedia work, different OS and application testing in a virtualized environment, or gaming. Basically where having a desk, extra horsepower/memory and/or large dual monitors comes in handy.
      admiraljkb
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Kindle Fire vs. iPad heats up for holiday shoppers (survey)

    Obviously this survey was done before the Nook Tablet announcement otherwise it would have been included too. A much more meaningful survey would compare the $249 Nook Tablet to the $199 Kindle Fire. While I personally think the Nook Tablet is likely to be the superior product for the $$, the Kindle Fire will outsell it due to sheer marketing muscle on Amazon's part.
    ckantack@...
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Kindle Fire vs. iPad heats up for holiday shoppers (survey)

      @ckantack@... [i] the Kindle Fire will outsell it due to sheer marketing muscle on Amazon's part.[/i]

      and that little fact that it's $50 cheaper.
      Badgered
      Reply Vote

    • it's about content

      @ckantack@... If I could conveniently access all my amazon content on the book, I'd get it - otherwise the fire wins
      archangel9999
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Kindle Fire vs. iPad heats up for holiday shoppers (survey)

        @archangel9999

        Yeah, that's where I'm at as well. I'm already tied into Amazon, and the Fire just makes it more convenient still. (at least that's the theory. We'll see next week heh?)
        admiraljkb
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Kindle Fire vs. iPad heats up for holiday shoppers (survey)

      @ckantack@... I think the big selling point would be eInk. You can't read a book on a device if it does not work in full sun. You can read that way with eInk. I don't know.. do they have color eInk now?
      hforman@...
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Kindle Fire vs. iPad heats up for holiday shoppers (survey)

      @ckantack@... <br><br>Personally I'd interpret it the other 44% as the group that would likely go after the Nook, since they are hung on specs, and Nook's specs are better than the Fire's. :)
      admiraljkb
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Kindle Fire vs. iPad heats up for holiday shoppers (survey)

      @ckantack@... By that standard, the Nook will disappear from view in a heartbeat because it doesn't even pretend to be any of the things the Kindle Fire pretends to be.<br><br>There are so many problems with this survey it's hardly worth commenting on, never mind taking seriously. Because no users know what the Kindle Fire is like yet [and it's only available by mail!], the entire survey is useless.<br><br>That first survey was at least interesting, demonstrating: <br>20 percent of tablet owners said yes, an iPad<br>10 percent of people said yes, an iPad<br>27 percent of tablet owners said yes, the Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet<br>12 percent of non-tablet owners said, yes, the Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet<br><br>But the second question was one designed to elicit the results gained. Common sense tells us that the 44% who said they would consider buying a Fire have absolutely no idea what they are committing to buy. <br><br>The other 44% who said they didn't know whether they would consider buying a Fire, also have absolutely no idea what they are committing to buy, but at least they had the sense to abstain on a question about which they had insufficient information.<br><br>The only useful number is the hard core of 12% who would - regardless of the Fire's spec, and totally disregarding the lower price, rather spend $300 more on an iPad!<br><br>What that should have told the author is that price is not a factor for 12% of the market. The other 88% have another 20 or so other mainstream devices to choose from - other than the Fire. <br><br>So even if we then assume the entire 88% eventually decide not to buy an iPad, on average only 8.8% will end up buying a Kindle Fire.<br><br>But of course that isn't what's been happening so far, and it's obviously not what will continue to happen. Half of the first 44% will choose iPads, as will at least half of the second 44%.<br><br>This means that a solid 56% will definitely buy an iPad. So actually 44% will possibly buy another device, meaning just 2.2% will actually buy a Fire. That's a lot different from any of the figures suggested above. I'm prepared to wager I'm a hell of a lot closer than the survey, and I may even be optimistic at 2.2%.
      Graham Ellison
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Kindle Fire vs. iPad heats up for holiday shoppers (survey)

    I ordered a Fire for myself and one for my daughter. A new laptop of some sort is in the cards in the near future and will look at a ultra-book instead of upgrading my MacBook Air. I have thought the I-Pad to be a limited use gadget, inferior to my Kindle for reading B&W content. I doubt many will have buyers regret over the Amazon Fire but suspect few are honest enough to discuss the I-Pad.

    BTW did you ever meet a BMW or Mercedes owner who will admit they got shortchanged on the value scale?
    oldgeek143
    Reply Vote

    • what are you talking about you dont own a i pad so how can you say that

      @oldgeek143
      Jdrunner
      Reply Vote

  • d u h

    DUH! Most of us users already have an iPad 2, we like it, we use it, it's awesome but why do we need another one for the holidays? why not get the NOOK or the FIRE? We don't have those yet....
    Hasam1991
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Kindle Fire vs. iPad heats up for holiday shoppers (survey)

      @Hasam1991
      25 million of you does not equal "most of us". In fact it takes less than 1 month to sell that many PCs.
      rengek
      Reply Vote

      • asdf

        By "users" I think he meant "tablet owners," which is the term the article used. Given the high market share Apple enjoys among tablet owners, the vast majority of tablet owners are iPad owners. It should probably not surprise us that they don't need a second one. If they buy a second tablet at all, it will likely be a different size, or have some other non-iPad characteristic.
        Robert Hahn
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Kindle Fire vs. iPad heats up for holiday shoppers (survey)

    Apple iPad is ridiculously overpriced, so take 30% off it and that's the value for comparison.
    riccol1966
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Kindle Fire vs. iPad heats up for holiday shoppers (survey)

      @riccol1966
      Oh really? Name a competing product with similar specs that is cheaper.
      You can't.
      .DeusExMachina.
      Reply Vote

    • Czar of all the Gushers

      So says the Commissar of Pricing, who retired from the Soviet Union after the command economy collapsed.
      Robert Hahn
      Reply Vote
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