Kindle Fire: The Biggest Threat to iPad?

Kindle Fire, Amazon's new tablet launched Wednesday, is probably the biggest threat to iPad.

So far, Apple Inc. dominates the tablet market, setting the digital tombstones for all the competition. The iPad has beaten Hewlett-Packard Co.'s TouchPad, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.'s Galaxy Tab and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.'s Xoom.

According to data tracker IDC, 29m iPad has been sold out since it went on sale last year. This occupies 68.3 percent of the tablet market in the second quarter.

Apple's iPad, which is known for its user-friendly elegant design and a wide selection of apps, is popular all around the world.

How can Amazon's Kindle Fire outdo it? Amazon's media offerings, aggressive pricing and ability to put this kind of tablet on popular shopping Web site can help Kindle Fire give iPad a run for its money.

Amazon, which is the biggest online bookseller and the largest online music seller in the US, ranking only second to Apple's iTunes, is almost unique in selling e-books, movies and music. The company built a partnership with Fox Monday, placing over 11,000 movies and TV shows on Amazon's Prime streaming service while Sony doesn't come close to matching the breadth of content in Apple's iTunes store, Washington Post reported.

Technology Web site TechCrunch predicted Kindle Fire will be priced $250. But Kindle Fire was priced at $199. In comparison, a new iPad is $499. Though the price is low, Citigroup has estimated the Kindle Fire will contribute about 10 percent of Amazon's total revenue by next year.

Amazon owns a large number of loyal book-buying customer base, which enable it compete with Apple. In essence, the Kindle is a Trojan horse for Amazon's retail and media brands. Morgan Keegan analyst Justin Patterson said.

The Kindle Fire is said to be used to remind customer of buying general merchandise from Amazon. Customers can add anything they are running out of to their Amazon shopping cart.

Kindle Fire comes with touch-screen technology, Android and access to Amazon's streaming movies and TV shows.