The numbers, which are pulled from application sessions among all Android tablets, compare usage in November and January. The Kindle Fire represented just 3 percent of usage in November, when the Tab ruled the roost with 63 percent. In just two months’ time, the href=”http://galaxytab.samsungmobile.com/” rel=”homepage” target=”_blank” title=”Samsung Galaxy Tab”>Galaxy Tab
This is the kind of information we expected because Amazon sold a record number of Kindle Fire tablets. When tablets like the href=”http://h41112.www4.hp.com/promo/webos/us/en/tablets/touchpad.html” rel=”homepage” target=”_blank” title=”HP TouchPad”>HP TouchPad cost less than $200 they sold-out. Strategy Analytics said there were 10.5 million Android tablets shipped in the fourth quarter, good enough for 39 percent of the market, compared to 29 percent a year earlier.
According to Flurry, Kindle Fire owners are big app users. In January there was that strong adoption of Kindle Fire, combined with significant downloads driven from the Amazon App Store that resulted in a massive surge in session usage that edged out the Galaxy Tab.
href=”http://www.pewinternet.org/” rel=”homepage” target=”_blank” title=”Pew Internet”>Pew Internet noted that the share of adults in the United States who own tablets went from 10% to 19% between mid-December and early January. The same surge in growth also applied to eBook readers, which also jumped from 10% to 19% over the same time period.
The number of Americans owning one table or eReader went from 18% in December to 29% in January.
The surge in ownership of tablets was greatest higher levels of education and those living in households earning more than $75,000.
More than a third of those living in households earning more than $75,000 (36%) now own a tablet computer. And almost a third of those with college educations or higher (31%) own the devices. Also, those under age 50 saw a significant leap in tablet ownership.
Flurry attributes the Kindle Fire’s success to its low retail price, with Amazon expecting to reap most of their profits from the sale of digital goods via their online storefront. So far the model appears to be working, but devices like the Galaxy Tab still hold an important place in the tablet world for those looking for a powerful device with greater functionality
[via Flurry]
