Kindle Fire outsells 16 GB iPad at Best Buy (updated)
The Kindle Fire is proving it's a hot seller, having knocked the 16 GB iPad from its perch as the best-selling tablet -- at least on Best Buy's website.
There are several factors playing into this: The iPad 2's been around for more than half a year while the Kindle Fire is still new. Unlike other Android-based tablets, the Fire is intricately linked to Amazon's media content, making it attractive to Amazon users. Toss in a price point that's less than half the price of the iPad 2 and the fact that it's the holiday-shopping season, and it's no surprise that the Fire is a hot seller. As reflected through our own experiences at TUAW, some of these new Fire owners also are iPad owners.
What these numbers do show is that the Kindle Fire is living up to its potential as a legitimate competitor for the iPad, and Apple and Amazon will most likely run neck and neck to see who has the hottest tablet for the holiday season. The gauntlet's been thrown, and it'll be interesting to see who comes out on top.
Update: To put things in perspective, however, this is a single tablet against 18 configurations of the iPad, which are coming in at #2, 3, 5, 6 and 8th spots on Best Buy's website respectively.
