Does Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)’s Bigger Kindle Fire HD Have Smaller Sales?

Beating Big G
Lacking any official unit figures from Amazon, investors must rely on third-party estimates. Market researcher IDC estimated that Amazon shipped 6 million tablets in the fourth quarter to grab 11.5% of the market. That was up from the 4.7 million units that Amazon moved in Q4 2011. However, as the broader market grows quickly, both Apple and Amazon have seen market share declines.

IDC doesn’t break down unit mix for each vendor, but I think it’s safe to say that most of Amazon’s unit shipments were the 7-inch model. The figures also suggest that the Kindle Fire HD is outselling Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)‘s Nexus 7 by nearly 2-to-1, as Asus shipped 3.1 million units. Most of those were likely the Nexus 7, since the OEM builds roughly 1 million per month.

That’s somewhat surprising as the Nexus 7 sits at the same $199 price point and is a more fully featured tablet compared to the Kindle Fire HD. Additionally, the Nexus 7 has wider country availability and ships to eight countries compared to the Kindle Fire HD’s six countries.

Both are worthy devices, and no other OEM can meaningfully compete at $199 since both are sold at or near cost. With the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD form factor wedged between both iPads, it looks like it’s having a hard time, too.

Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Amazon.com, Apple, and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Amazon.com, Apple, and Google.

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