The numbers have spoken, and Amazon’s contender in the tablet PC comparison wars has taken the number two from Samsung. Market analysts say that the Kindle Fire will most likely settle in that spot – and maybe even whittle away further at the iPad 2’s share of market.

Apple and the competition

If you’ve been following the tablet PC comparison wars for a time, you’d know how the Apple iPad 2 eats its competition for breakfast. The slate maker commands a sizeable 65.6% share of the tablet PC market, thwarting everybody else’s attempts to grab a piece of the pie. Industry analysts say that though many have been actively competing with Apple by releasing their own tablet PC models, sometimes coming as close to emulating the iPad itself, none has come close to actually competing head to head with it in the market.

Former number 2, Samsung for example, released a tablet so closely resembling the iPad that it’s still having problems selling the device in some countries because of patent infringement suits. Since the Kindle Fire surged off the shelves, Samsung had only been left with 4.8% market share, though in a head-to-head tablet PC comparison, the Galaxy Tab emerges the victor. The Kindle Fire’s lower price point and access to Amazon’s robust ecosystem beats out the Galaxy Tab’s superior specs.

Game changer

As of this writing, the Kindle Fire has only been out in the market for a little over 2 weeks, and already, it’s projected to take as much as 13.8% of the market by the end of this year. Before the Kindle Fire, competitors have only been trying to outgun the iPad 2 in terms of hardware, others going so far as to refining unit designs to offer unique looks and functionalities. Those efforts, while innovative, have largely failed.

Amazon, on the other hand, levelled the playing field somewhat by offering the Kindle Fire at a slight loss, luring customers with a very attractive selling price of US$ 199. The marketing strategy has paid up quite nicely, with e-commerce giant reporting quadrupled sales for its Kindle line last Black Friday. So far, Amazon has proved that it is possible to punch a hole in Apple’s lion’s share of the market and many believe that this is only just the beginning of a new phase in the tablet PC comparison wars. Will others follow Amazon’s example and start offering tablet PCs at a lower price range? We’ll see which way the market leans in the next few months.