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Apple iPad still towers over Amazon Kindle Fire

wicked

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ipad2-vs-kindle-fire.jpg




Kindle Fire had a great year. Stifel Nicolaus analyst Jordan Rohan commented on why he thinks that is:

"Kindle Fire has staked out an important market position due to its loyal Amazon customer base and attractive (low) device pricing," Rohan wrote.

Even if it sold a staggering 6 million units, somehow it still did not manage to achieve the unachievable - to steal Apple’s high and mighty place of domination upon the tablet world. Even if Amazon’s Kindle Fire has been called the iPad’s best competitor, but apparently it still has a lot of work to do.

Now, Kindle Fire is taking another punch to the face. A recent survey revealed that iPad owners are more satisfied with their device than owners of other tablets. The data was collected by US company ChangeWave and was interested in the degree of satisfaction tablet owners felt towards their purchases. The numbers will surely enough stroke Apple’s ego once more.

74% of iPad owners said they were very happy with their products, but only 54% of Amazon Kindle Fire had the same reaction towards their tablet. The survey mostly focused on the two brands, but ChangeWave did add that from the sea of non Apple/Kindle users, 49% said they were very happy with their device.

The total amount of people involved in the study was 2600, but only a small percent of them were tablet owners. Out of the 2600, only 156 had a Kindle Fire for example. Having a good costumer satisfaction rate is considered to be vital for the on-going perpetuation of the device.


Source: reghardware
 

tlbaker

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The two devices are not comparable. They each cater to a different market!! ;). I like the kindle fire. Good little device for the price.

Sent from my Verizon Black 64GB iPad 2 With IOS 5.01 Update From NYC using iPF
 

jsh1120

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Been tracking the success of the KF since its introduction and have had one since early January. And having spent a good part of my life running and analyzing public opinion/consumer marketing surveys, I'd say the following.

() There is no question that the iPad is the gold standard of customer satisfaction. Same is true of other Apple products. They do a great job of building a product that accurately targets the needs of most consumers. On the other hand Apple also benefits from what's sometimes called the "BMW factor," a halo effect associated with having paid a premium price for a product that confers status on the purchaser. Few brands manage to attain that distinction. BMW is one, Harley Davidson is another. Apple is probably the most successful in the current marketplace. What it means is that consumers derive satisfaction simply from owning a product with the brand name. That's not a criticism; it's simply a fact that Apple owners tend to ignore negative features more than owners of competing products.

() On the other hand, people who purchase "bargain" products (in this case the low priced KF) are more likely to find flaws in a product, even when they're satisfied with a purchase. "It's great for the price, but I wish it had..."

() Interestingly, I've been tracking the satisfaction scores for the KF on the Amazon website since November. What that indicates is steadily increasing satisfaction with the device among more recent purchasers. That probably results to some extent in Amazon's product updates but it also likely represents more realistic (and knowledgeable) purchasers as the later adopters understand the features of the KF more completely. (Almost 75% of Amazon purchasers now rate the product at 4 or 5 stars. Shortly after its introduction that figure was about 67%.) Furthermore, a significant portion (about 20%) of those who rate the KF at 1 or 2 stars complain about the fact that many of its features are not available outside the US. Eliminating those reviews and the KF has been a huge success among its purchasers.

() "tlbaker" is, of course, correct. The KF is almost completely devoted to content consumption. The iPad includes features for content creation that the KF lacks. Overall, I'd say the distance between the feaures of the two devices is comparable to the distance between an iPad and a good laptop that costs about 2.5 times as much.

() On the other hand, I'm finding that the KF does have some distinct advantages compared to the iPad. Yes, its screen is half the size of the iPad and that alone (even ignoring other missing features) makes it a less usable device for content creation and web surfing. But I find it compensates in terms of portability. I can put it in a jacket pocket almost as easily as a (large) smartphone. For reading books and watching movies, it's as good or better than the iPad. (The 16x9 aspect ration of the KF is actually better than the 4x3 form factor of the iPad for movies, though not nearly as good for reading, much less creating, documents.)

() All in all, this isn't a "game" where one product "wins" the Super Bowl and one can't even remember who lost the game six months later. The KF appeals to an important niche market that the iPad does not. And just as the iPad provides an alternative for those that don't need/want all the features of a full-fledged laptop computer, the KF provides a similar alternative for those who don't care about writing long(ish) documents, taking photos, or creating other content but just want a device that extends the functionality of an "e-reader" to other media.
 

Kaykaykay

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For me, KF has become my e-reader. I carry it everywhere with my iPhone and leave my iPads at home. I don't read books on iPad now because KF size is a perfect, paperback-like size. I also prefer backlighting to e-ink. Reading is my main hobby, and Amazon is getting all my book money right now, plus music purchases. So the KF business model is working in may case, because I'm buying content. I spend $30 to $50 a week.
 

concu88

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Amazon doesn't have to kill iPad to make money. Every iPad owner is s potential Amazon customer as well.
I agree, iPad and Kindle are two different products that have different specifications and functions. They may look the same but let's face it, Kindle is basically an e-reader with the benefits and features of a tablet. iPad on the other hand is a cross between a laptop and smartphone.
 

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