Amazon could emerge as a serious competitor to Apple in the tablet computer market and potentially provide momentum for a range of new tablet devices.
That's according to Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps, who in a blog predicted that Amazon could sell between 3 and 5 million tablets in the fourth quarter alone if it sells a device under $300.
“Even though Amazon taking on Apple is a bit like David taking on Goliath (compare the market cap, profits, and cash position of the two companies), Amazon’s willingness to sell hardware at a loss combined with the strength of its brand, content, cloud infrastructure, and commerce assets makes it the only credible iPad competitor in the market," Epps wrote.
To date, Apple has dominated the nascent market for tablet computers with its iPad. IHS, the research and advisory firm, predicts that Apple will ship 44.2 million iPads this year, accounting for 74 percent of media tablet shipments in 2011.
“All the momentum in the media tablet market is with Apple right now," said Rhoda Alexander, IHS’ senior manager of tablet and monitor research, in a recent statement. “The competition can’t seem to field a product with the right combination of hardware, marketing, applications and content to match up with the iPad."
But Apple’s market share could fall if Amazon enters the tablet wars, which it plans to do by October, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.
Forrester analyst Epps said Amazon also could serve as a platform for other original equipment manufacturers, with various hardware makers layering Amazon’s software and services over Android’s operating system.
“In a year from now, we could see a range of ‘Amazon tablets’ made by different hardware manufacturers," she wrote.
Amazon’s potential success selling millions of tablets also would make Android “suddenly appear much more attractive to developers who have taken a wait-and-see approach," Epps said.
