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Amazon.com ( AMZN ) jumped to No. 3 in the global tablet market during the fourth quarter, thanks to its lineup of low-cost slates, led by the $50 Fire tablet. In Q4, Amazon shipped 5 million tablets, accounting for 11.5% of the total market. In the year-earlier quarter, Amazon shipped just 1.5 million tablets, accounting for 2.9% of the market, ABI Research reported Monday. Amazon’s tablet shipments soared 233% in Q4 vs. Q4 2014. “Unlike other tablet manufacturers, Amazon views hardware as a commodity and emphasizes focus on its recurring digital content revenue stream, generated from selling digital books, music, TV and video programming to owners of its devices,” ABI analyst Jeff Orr said in a statement . “The incredibly low pricing of the Fire Tablet is a smart and strategic move, as few others can afford to accept a lower margin on their tablet devices in favor of driving a surplus of content-related revenues.” When Amazon launched its cheap tablets last fall, the average vendor selling price for tablets was $323, ABI said. Apple ( AAPL ) maintained its lead in the tablet market in Q4, shipping 16.1 million iPads, or 37.2% of the total market. A year earlier, Apple claimed 41.2% of the tablet market. Apple’s iPad shipments fell 24.8% year over year. Samsung placed second with 9 million tablets shipped in Q4, making up 20.8% of tablet shipments. That’s down from 21.4% market share in Q4 2014. On a year-over-year basis, Samsung’s tablet shipments fell 18.9%. Overall tablet shipments fell 16.6% to 43.3 million units in Q4, ABI said. So far, the leading tablet vendors haven’t followed Amazon by drastically lowering their tablet prices. “Most tablet vendors continue to take a wait-and-see approach to Amazon’s Fire Tablet release,” Orr said. “It’s a path only few can follow, as vendors without content distribution rights and value-added services can only rely on the transaction price of their hardware to stay in business. “For instance, LeEco, formerly LeTV, in China is attempting a similar model. Conversely, content owners may find value in broadening their ecosystems by striking relationships with tablet vendors to get their programming in front of more users.” RELATED: Apple iPad Sales Falling Twice As Fast As Overall Tablet Market . Scalper1 News
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