The Kindle Fire’s position as the best-selling Android tablet and the only real challenger to the iPad was short-lived, according to new figures from IDC.
The numbers for the first calendar quarter of 2012 show that while the iPad increased its share of the market from 54.7% to 68%, the Kindle Fire slumped from 16.8% to just 4%.
‘Apple reasserted its dominance in the market this quarter, driving huge shipment totals at a time when all but a few Android vendors saw their numbers drop precipitously after posting big gains during the holiday buying season,’ said Tom Mainelli, research director, Mobile Connected Devices at IDC.
Samsung re-took its position as best of the also-rans, while Lenovo slotted in behind Amazon. Barnes and Noble’s Nook was fifth.
IDC commented that while Android sales dropped off in the first quarter, the future looks more promising as manufacturers like Samsung and Lenovo get their acts together. ‘It seems some of the mainstream Android vendors are finally beginning to grasp a fact that Amazon, B&N, and Pandigital figured out early on: Namely, to compete in the media tablet market with Apple, they must offer their products at notably lower price points,’ Mainelli said.
In addition to improvements from Samsung and Lenovo, new tablets from Amazon and Google should improve Android’s share of the market, explained Mianelli. ‘We expect a new, larger-screened device from Amazon at a typically aggressive price point, and Google will enter the market with an inexpensive, co-branded ASUS tablet designed to compete directly on price with Amazon’s Kindle Fire.’
