Amazon's Kindle Fire could topple Apple's iPad lead in the tablet market according to a new survey.

An online survey from Retrevo, a consumer electronics review and shopping site shows that from the 1000 Americans it surveyed in October, 44% were considering buying the Kindle Fire over Apple's iPad. Only 12% said they were still sticking with the iPad and another 44% said they "didn't know enough about the Amazon tablet."

The survey took place before Barnes and Noble's Nook Tablet was announced but Retrevo added that the $249 Nook Tablet could also be an alternative to the iPad.

Tablet market shares have been largely dominated by Apple's iPad since it first launched in April 2010. Apple has sold over 36 million iPad and iPad 2 units retaining at least 61 percent of the market share this year. This overwhelming lead could soon be challenged by Amazon's Kindle Fire which is attracting buyer interest because of its smaller size and lower price compared to the iPad.

"With this [44%] 'acceptance' of a smaller tablet and the large price difference, conditions seem right for the Amazon Fire to become a hot item this year," Retrevo said.

Amazon's pricing of the Kindle Fire has become one the main reasons why demand for tablet is so high. Amazon has already increased manufacturing orders for the Kindle Fire from 4 million to 5 million with a projected 2.5 million units already pre-sold before its November 15 launch.

"Amazon has recently increased its Kindle Fire orders to more than 5 million units before the end of 2011 as pre-orders for the machine remain strong, according to sources from upstream component suppliers," Yenting Chen and Rebecca Kuo of DigiTimes said in the report. "Amazon already raised its order volume once in the middle of the third quarter, up from 3.5 million units originally to 4 million units."

Selling the Kindle Fire for $199 is already proving to be effective strategy in the tablet market especially against higher-priced competitors like Apple and Samsung. Amazon is willing to suffer a $10 loss for every Kindle Fire unit sold and betting that it will make up for the loss through selling online content in its Amazon Store.

Retrevo concludes that the Kindle Fire sales will benefit from the timing of its launch. Apple's iPad 2 is already showing its age and the iPad 3 rumored to launch next year, the Kindle Fire with its attractive price will be a cheaper alternative for shoppers in the holiday season.