Analyst: Upcoming Amazon tablet will give iPad its first real competition

Forrester Research | Reuters
The iPad has dominated the tablet market since its debut in 2010, but its first strong competitor should emerge this fall in Amazon’s forthcoming device. The key, according to a new Forrester Research report, is Amazon’s willingness to sell the hardware at a loss, perhaps under $300, as a means to sell more e-books and other products. Forrester anticipates Amazon selling 3 million to 5 million tablets in the fourth quarter of 2011. By 2012, Amazon’s tablet will be “synonymous with ‘Android’ on tablets” and “a strong second” to the iPad, writes Sarah Rotman Epps. || Related: Analyst underestimated the iPad in 2010 || Earlier: Amazon launches its own Android app store