November 21, 2011

BETHESDA, MD – The launch of the Amazon Kindle Fire is the most explosive development in the tablet market since the release of the original iPad according to a new survey from ChangeWave Research, a division of The 451 Group.

The November survey of 3,043 North American consumers shows an extraordinary level of initial demand for the Amazon tablet, with 2% of respondents having already pre-ordered the device and 5% saying they’re Very Likely to buy it. Another 12% say they’re Somewhat Likely.

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. 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.

Overall Tablet Demand: Explosively Accelerating Growth

The primary focus of the ChangeWave survey was on future demand trends, including tablet purchasing for the holidays. A total of 14% of respondents say they’ll be buying a tablet in the next 90 days – 8-pts higher than an August ChangeWave survey and more than triple the level of a year ago.

Apple continues to show enormous strength in the tablet market, where it’s enjoying the best quarter in its history, according to the survey. But while two-out-of-every-three future buyers plan on purchasing an Apple iPad (65%), for the first time since the launch of the original model, there is a double-digit contender for the number two spot.

Better than one-in-five planned purchasers (22%) say they’ll buy a Kindle Fire.

(FOR THOSE BUYING A TABLET DEVICE IN THE FUTURE) Who is the manufacturer and what tablet device are you planning on buying?

Importantly, with the exception of the Samsung Galaxy Tab (4%) no other manufacturer is garnering more than 1% of future tablet demand among consumers.

Customer Satisfaction. As seen in previous ChangeWave surveys, a key reason for the Apple iPad’s market dominance can be found in its customer satisfaction rating. A total of 74% of all iPad owners say they’re Very Satisfied with their device. This compares to a 49% Very Satisfied rating for all other tablet manufacturers combined.

Summary. The ChangeWave survey shows the Amazon Kindle Fire is going to leapfrog the competition and become the number two product in the tablet market, as long as it can provide a quality user experience.

But the Amazon surge may also contain a silver lining for Apple, by damaging the tablet market hopes of the remaining competitors in the field.

Other Findings

• Two-in-five respondents planning on buying a tablet say Price (40%) is the number one factor affecting their purchasing decision, followed by Long Battery Life (21%).

• Price is far more of a factor for planned Kindle Fire buyers (75%) than iPad buyers (22%) – not a surprise considering the $199 price tag for the Fire vs. $499 for the lowest cost iPad. eReading Features (22%) are also far more important to planned Fire buyers than iPad buyers (3%).

• Of major importance to iPad planned purchasers are the # of Apps Available (20% iPad vs. 6% Fire), Operating SystemUsed (20% iPad vs. 6% Fire), and Brand Loyalty (17% iPad vs. 2% Fire).

The complete ChangeWave Consumer Tablet, PC and eReader Demand report is available here.

**Note that ChangeWave also offers this report as part of a quarterly subscription series available for purchase.

About ChangeWave Research
ChangeWave Research, an independent division of The 451 Group, is a survey research firm that identifies and quantifies change in corporate buying & business trends, telecom trends, and consumer spending & electronics trends. This is accomplished through a weekly series of large sample surveys to its network of 25,000 accredited business and technology professionals, and early-adopter consumers, working in more than 20 industries. To learn more visit www.changewaveresearch.com.

About The 451 Group
The 451 Group is a leading technology-industry analyst company focused on the business of enterprise IT innovation. The company's analysts provide critical and timely insight into the market and competitive dynamics of innovation in emerging technology segments. The 451 Group is headquartered in New York, with offices in key locations, including San Francisco, Washington, DC, London, Boston, Seattle and Denver. For additional information on The 451 Group, go to: www.the451group.com.