(Image courtesy of Computerworld)
A new report on the tablet market will ring a sour note with the onslaught of tablet makers trailing in Apple’s wake -- the iPad is dominating the market big time, and doesn’t show any signs of stopping.
Computerworld is reporting that Apple lords over the global tablet market with the iPad, commanding a 95 percent share in the third quarter of this year. According to new data released by Strategy Analytics, global tablet shipments were over four million units during the quarter, where Apple “was the clear market leader.”
"Global tablet shipments grew 26 percent sequentially to reach 4.4 million units in Q3 2010,” explains Peter King, director of Strategy Analytics. “Apple was the clear market leader during the quarter, capturing an impressive 95 percent share with the iPad and beating Android into second place."
Unfortunately for Google’s Android, in this case “second place” is a long way off from where Apple’s iPad currently sits as lord of the manor. Android actually dipped a bit from a 2.9 percent share in the second quarter to only 2.3 percent in the third quarter, although the platform is equal to the market share of all other operating systems besides the iPad.
"The tablet wars are up and running,” proclaims Strategy Analytics’ Neil Mawston. “Apple has quickly leveraged its famous brand, an extensive retail presence and user-friendly design to develop the tablet segment into a multi-billion-dollar global business.”
The Android share of the market is expected to grow in the fourth quarter, particularly with the anticipated entry of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab this month. However, the seven-inch tablet is already getting mixed reviews, largely due to the smaller unit having a lesser screen. For Apple’s part, you can bet that an iPad 2 is coming in early 2011, which will make the competition have to work even harder to play catch up.
"Android, Microsoft, MeeGo, webOS, Blackberry and other platforms are trailing in Apple's wake and they already have much ground to make up,” Mawston concludes.
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