It’s looking like we’ve got a hot one, and quite literally, as leaked data suggests that Amazon’s new tablet, the Kindle Fire, is already at pre-sale numbers of a quarter million.

Cult of Android has posted a screenshot image of what looks like Amazon’s inventory system that is used internally. Of course, like all good rumors’ origins, this one is reportedly from a “verified source.” If true, this tablet has a good shot in the market against other tablet contenders, most notably the iPad.

The screenshot reveals that there were already more than 254,000 pre-orders for the tablet at the time of the leak. To achieve that pre-order figure, Amazon must have averaged 50,000 unit orders per day, or more than 2,000 units ordered each hour.

Essentially, that’s a lot.

For comparison, Apple (News - Alert) sold 300,000 iPad tablets on its first day of availability, which also included pre-orders and sales to partners and retail channels. CultofAndroid said Amazon has also received more than 20,000 pre-orders for its Kindle Touch and more than 12,000 pre-orders for the Kindle Touch 3G.

Cult of Android (News - Alert) cautions that it's possible customers could cancel their pre-orders or demand could flatten out by the Kindle Fire's November 15 launch day.

Forrester (News - Alert) expects Amazon to sell 3 million Fire tablets this holiday season — the low end of its original estimate, due to the device's relatively late shipping date.

Of course, rumors aside, price plays a big factor in these numbers.

The iPad is $500 and the Kindle Fire is only $200. 250,000 pre-orders might look like a lot, but we're comparing Apples to, well, Kindles.

Neil Mawston, a director with research firm Strategy Analytics (News - Alert), appears unworried for the iPad. The Nook should be shaking in its cover, however.

“We expect Amazon's Fire to put a sizeable dent in Apple's armor, but it will not be an iPad killer,” Mawston told Connected Planet (News - Alert), following the Fire's debut.

“Barnes and Noble should probably be more worried than Apple,” he continued. “The Amazon Fire can be used as a premium ebook-reader, and the Fire could quickly turn out to be a Nook killer.”