Researchers at International Data Corp (IDC), a Massachusetts-based research company that tracks technology sales, believe Android tablet unit sales will surpass those of iPad by 2015, reports Bloomberg. According to IDC experts, it will happen with increasing demands for Amazon’s Kindle Fire.

IDC also increased its estimate for tablet shipments in 2012 to 106.1 million. Last year’s tablet sales of 68.7 million were higher than IDC’s expectations.

The statement released by IDC says tablet shipments in 2012 will rise by more than 54 per cent as earlier predicted due to better response for Amazon’s lower-priced challenge to Apple.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which runs on Google’s Android operating system, is currently priced at less than half the price of Apple’s cheapest iPad.

“Products across the pricing spectrum sold well,” said Tom Mainelli, a research director at IDC in the statement. “Amazon’s widely reported entry into the media tablet market with a $199, 7-inch product seemed to raise consumers’ awareness of the category worldwide.”

According to IDC researchers, Kindle Fire will also help Android based tablet sales to overtake Apple in unit sales by 2015.

Official sales figures of Kindle devices haven’t been released by Amazon. However, the company confirmed in January that there was an increase of 177 per cent in units sold in the nine-week period ending Dec. 31 compared to same time the previous year.

Amazon also stated that Kindle Fire is the best-selling item on its site at the time.

Kindle Fire to boost Android Tablet sales to surpass iPad by 2015