The Kindle Fire HD is on fire, from a sales perspective. The online retail giant reported today that they were rated #1 in customer service by ForeSee and sold over 26.5 million items ordered on their peak day. The Kindle Fire HD continues to be their #1 seller across all product categories.
Considering that my colleague Kelly Clay reported that Amazon makes no profit on the units, it may not appear to interest Wall Street very much. However, it does signal a lot of opportunity for those who deal in digital products or who can figure out how to use the affordable tablet in their business environment. Or, as Benzinga Insights points out, will the Kindle Fire HD outsell the iPad in China? Read that post: Will Amazon's Kindle Fire Top Apple's iPad in China?
Most people consider the Kindle Fire HD a consumer device and it largely is, but I believe it makes a sweet, useful tablet for startups and small businesses. It is, despite its forked version of the Android platform, a solid tablet that lets you check email, surf the web, watch videos -- training videos or other such work-related television. It works great as a display device showcasing a short presentation, perhaps, or a gallery of photographs to a client.
As some readers know, I review apps, gadgets and devices for small and medium business uses. I reviewed the Amazon Kindle Fire HD (via a loaner device from the company) at Small Business Trends: Kindle Fire for Business. Mostly, I found that it is pretty solid and frankly, gets better with each new version that Jeff Bezos creates with his vision of the future. There are shortcomings with the device I tested, but I would still highly recommend it if you need an affordable tablet to test various ideas in your company.
You can read the official release here on Amazon: For the Eighth Consecutive Year, Amazon Ranks #1 in Customer Satisfaction During the Holiday Shopping Season. Here are a few of the highlights:
- Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle hold the top four spots on the Amazon worldwide best seller charts since launch.
- Cyber Monday 2012 was the biggest day ever for Kindle sales worldwide.
- Christmas Day was the biggest day ever for digital downloads across Amazon’s selection of over 23 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, books, audiobooks, and popular apps and games.
- The most gifted Kindle book during the holiday season was “The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail-but Some Don't,” by Nate Silver.
They include a bunch more fun holiday facts, too, that make this simple news release good to read, if you are an Amazon lover or if you're watching them as a competitor.
