American online retail giant, Amazon. com has surpassed Samsung Electronics in the tablet computer market in the last quarter.

The American giant shipped 3.89 million units in the quarter, according to a new report by research firm HIS. The company's market share rose to 14 percent in the quarter while Samsung slipped to 8 percent from 11 percent, the report said. Apple remained the market leader in the quarter with its popular iPad tablet computer.

Amazon released Kindle Fire tablet in November to take on Apple and other manufacturers. Amazon attracted much attention with the tablet, which is priced at less than half that of Apple's iPad.

Rhoda Alexander, who manages tablet research for HIS, pointed out that besides competitors, other devices affected iPad's market share in the quarter. "Shipments of the iPad line fell short of IHS estimates in the fourth quarter as many loyal Apple customers devoted their dollars to shiny new alternatives," she said in the report.

She also added that Apple's own iPhone 4S smartphone was a solid alternative to iPad. Apple sold 15.4 million iPads and had a market share of 57 percent of the market while Samsung shipped 2.14 million tablets in the fourth quarter. The overall market grew 55 percent to 27.1 million in the quarter, HIS said.