Step aside iPad competitor wannabes.
The Amazon Kindle Fire may become one of the hottest tablets on the marketplace, ranking No. 2 behind Apple's iPad, a survey indicates.
Two percent of respondents surveyed by ChangeWave Research already pre-ordered the Kindle Fire while 5 percent say they are "very likely" to purchase one. Another 12 percent of respondents in the November survey of 3,043 consumers in North America said they are "somewhat likely" to buy Amazon's tablet.
"The launch of the Amazon Kindle Fire represents a shot across the bow at Apple, who until now has almost completely dominated the tablet space," ChangeWave Research noted Monday. "But the most immediate impact of the Amazon device is on the rest of the competition, where the survey shows it wreaking a devastating blow to a range of second tier tablet manufacturers, including Motorola, RIM, Dell, HTC, H-P and Toshiba."
Still, Apple need not fret too much: The survey revealed that 65 percent of future buyers of tablets plan to purchase an iPad. Another 22 percent intend to scoop up a Kindle Fire, while only 4 percent plan to buy a Samsung Galaxy Tab.
One of the reasons for the iPad's success, ChangeWave Research noted, is high customer satisfaction with the device, as reflected in the survey.
