iPad, Kindle Fire hot sellers for holiday shoppers

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Tablet computers are the hottest gadgets to give this holiday season and there are lots to choose from. But there are two that seem to be getting all the attention.

Over a dozen different shiny tablets with bright color touch screens beckon holiday shoppers, but for most people it really comes down to the Apple iPad 2 and Kindle Fire.

TechBargains.com did a survey revealing more than one-third of tablet buyers plan to get an iPad 2 and almost another third plan to buy Amazon's new Kindle Fire, largely because of its 199 price tag.

"If this thing was priced at 399 it would not sell," TechBargains.com Editor-in-Chief Yung Trang said.

It's not as full featured as an iPad, but it costs a lot less. That sets it apart from all the other tablets that aren't selling as well.

At one Best Buy, a manager told ABC7 tablets are outselling laptops 2 to 1. The iPad and the Kindle Fire are both hot sellers. But the Kindle Fire is having a bit of a marketing problem because some customers we talked to assume since it's a Kindle, all it does is read books.

The Fire actually is a full tablet, with web browsing, apps and movie downloads.

CNET editor Donald Bell points out bargain hunters are still all over the Amazon tablet, while the iPad is more of a luxury item.

Never mind that they're small, with great battery life and 3G Internet, most iPad owners use them at home. And it tends to get used by the whole family.

That might explain why one-quarter of those surveyed who own an iPad also want to get a Kindle Fire for the holidays -- they want their iPads back.

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holiday, shopping, iPad, kindle, tablets, technology, jonathan bloom

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