Now that the dust has settled from Christmas 2011 buying season, industry analysts are getting to work on determining who won shoppers’ hearts last year – and specifically how much financial damage the Amazon Kindle Fire release did to sales of the Apple iPad 2.

According to Tavis McCourt of Morgan Keegan investment firm, Apple tablet PC sales were 13 million in fourth quarter 2011, a nearly 20% drop from the projected 16 million. McCourt reasoned that the 4 million to 5 million Kindle Fire tablets sold in the quarter “probably means maybe 1 to 2 million cannibalized iPad sales at most.”

Looking ahead, McCourt foresees “continued strong growth in iPad , although slightly slower than we originally anticipated” and that “We expect Apple to continue to show strong growth in fiscal 2012 with the success of a forthcoming iPad upgrade and continued sales of iPhone 4S being the major determinants of what rate Apple can grow this year.”

To carry the tablets, try any of the available 10” Apple iPad 2 cases. As for the Amazon Kindle Fire cases - any 7” case will do.