Pre-order demand causes Amazon to up Kindle Fire's 2011 total to 5 million units, reports DigiTimes

Second raise for $199 tablet

Owing to what's described as a wealth of pre-release demand, it appears initial projections that Amazon would ship around 5 million units in Q4 2011 could well be proved true.

According to report by DigiTimes, Amazon itself is now upping the total number of orders it expects to meet before 2011 is out, with sources from upstream component suppliers claiming the firm will manufacturer 5 million units before the end of 2011.

Muddy waters

If true, it would represent the second time Amazon has had to up its order volume, with the firm having previously upped it from 3.5 million units to 4 million.

The $199 device is expected to provide stiff competition for tablets already on the market, including Apple's dominant iPad, which – at its cheapest – retails for $499 or more.

Indeed, a report conduced by ChangeWave and RBC Capital Markets claims 26 percent of consumers have already been put off Apple's tablet in favour of waiting for the cheaper Kindle Fire, though Apple itself has claimed the device will instead further fragment the existing Android tablet market.

[source: DigiTimes]

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