Average Rating: Rate this article:

Market for Tablets Exploded in Q4, Surpassing Predictions By Adam Dickter January 31, 2013 4:30PM     Apple, whose iPad broke open the marketplace when it was introduced in 2010, continues to dominate the market, but it's losing some ground, slipping from 51 percent in 2011's final quarter to 43.6 percent this time around, according to IDC. Samsung, meanwhile, grew 263 percent, and now owns 15.1 percent of the global market with its Galaxy tablets.   Related Topics Tablet Apple Microsoft iPad Android Samsung Galaxy Tab Asus Latest News What's in Store for Apple's iOS 7? Reality TV's New Stars: Small Biz Soundbars Up the Ante on TV Sound Google Glass Raises Privacy Concerns Pentagon Gives iOS 6 Security OK If you are reading this on a tablet, it may well be one of a record number of devices shipped in the fourth quarter, 52.5 million, according to a preliminary estimate by IDC. That's a figure that surpassed predictions and illustrates how fast the lightweight but powerful portable computers are taking the world by storm. Using its Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, IDC estimated that the market grew more than 73 percent over the same quarter of 2011, when 29.9 million tablets were sold. And the numbers show that holiday shopping was a particularly strong shot in the arm for the market: Sequentially, sales rose 74 percent from just 30 million tablets shipped in the third quarter. The biggest growth in shipments came from Taiwanese manufacturer Asus,, which saw a 402 percent boost in shipments and more than doubled its market share from 2 percent to 5.8 percent. Beating PCs "We expected a very strong fourth quarter, and the market didn't disappoint," said Tom Mainelli, research director for tablets at IDC. "New product launches from the category's top vendors, as well as new entrant Microsoft , led to a surge in consumer interest and very robust shipments totals during the holiday season. "The record-breaking quarter stands in stark contrast to the PC market, which saw shipments decline during the quarter for the first time in more than five years." Microsoft introduced the Surface, its Windows 8 powered tablet, in October. Apple, whose iPad broke open the marketplace when it was introduced in 2010, continues to dominate the market, but it's losing some ground, slipping from 51 percent in 2011's final quarter to 43.6 percent this time around. Apple increased its shipments, though, for the year, because of the introduction of the iPad mini and a full-size, fourth-generation iPad. (This month the Cupertino, Calif., technology giant also announced a new 128-GB iPad aimed at business users, further indicating it will try to match the diversity of its rivals' offerings. Speaking of, Samsung's growth during 2012 by far outshined Apple, with a 263 percent increase over last year, now owning 15.1 percent of the global market with its Galaxy devices, more than double its 7.3 percent share last year. Amazon came in third place with its Kindle Fire tablets, but the online retail king lost market share, despite introducing a new device in September, slipping from 15.9 percent to 11.5 percent. Also enjoying a spot in the top five was book giant Barnes & Noble, which sold 1 million Nook tablets and readers, although its market share sank from 4.6 percent to just 1.9 percent year over year. A Milestone Reached Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, said the most interesting news here is that Apple's market share fell below 50 percent for the first time. "That doesn't mean instantaneous doom and gloom for Apple -- the company is still the largest single tablet vendor around," King told us. "But it suggests that Android's growing dominance in smartphones is translating into the tablet market, as well. "   Based on your interest in this article, here's something that may be of interest to you also: (Why?) This article relates to the following term(s) that also match our recommendation: Ipad. (Close) Gift Suggestion: Give your favorite children the gift of an amazing adventure in reading. Check out one of the hottest new series of the year: The Mason Dexter Adventure Series chronicles the adventures of Mason Dexter, a resourceful middle-school boy who builds amazing tech gadgets and saves America from impending doom. The Mason Dexter Adventure Series is available now on Amazon.com. Perfect to read on the iPad, Kindle, Android eBook readers, or any computer with Amazon's free Kindle app. Tell Us What You Think Comment: Name: Also Visit: iPad Info Center Billions of Bytes Mobile Device Now Apple Info Center TopTechWire.com Panasonic Toughbook® mobile computers are engineered to withstand drops, spills, dust and grime, and to perform in the harshest environments. Rugged reliability, low cost of ownership and accolades from reviewers are just a few of the reasons why Toughbook computers keep winning over the world's toughest users. Click here to learn more.  Mobile Tech 1.   What's in Store for Apple's iOS 7? 2.   Google Glass Raises Privacy Concerns 3.   IDC: Windows Phone Now in 3rd Place 4.   Intel Going Mobile with Its New CEO 5.   Google Bets Its Empty Wallet on Gmail Mandatory BYOD Is Catching On Will be required by many within 4 years. Average Rating: Thorsten Heins Predicts Tablet Demise BlackBerry PlayBook may color his view? Average Rating: Google Glass Raises Privacy Concerns House privacy panel wants answers. Average Rating:

Product Information and Resources for Technology You Can Use To Boost Your Business BYOD & MDM   Build a business case for a BYOD program. CRM Systems   Free Download: Understanding the Voice of the Customer   Unlock the potential in your people with Microsoft Dynamics   How Microsoft Dynamics helped mobilize retail businesses   2 million CRM success stories and counting...   Experience CRM and Business Success today with Salesforce.com.   Free Download: Understanding the Voice of the Customer   Optimize CRM with Data Quality Management. More from Trillium Cloud & Virtualization   Riverbed Stingray Traffic Manager on Amazon Web Services Contact Centers   Unlock the potential in your people with Microsoft Dynamics Customer Data   Free Download: Understanding the Voice of the Customer   See how you can benefit from Microsoft Dynamics   Free Download: Understanding the Voice of the Customer Customer Service   Improve your customer relationships with Microsoft Dynamics   2 million CRM success stories and counting...   Unlock the potential in your people with Microsoft Dynamics Data Security   Simpana® 10 software: an exponential leap forward Enterprise Hardware   The 2013 Toughpad™ tablets. Rugged, secure and built for business.   Rugged and reliable Panasonic Toughbook® mobile computers.   The best document scanner for you? Try KODAK's scanner selector   APC makes it easy for you to focus on business growth, not downtime. Enterprise I.T.   Brocade's mission: Making networks easier to deploy, manage, and scale.   11 Challenges Solved by Infrastructure for Small IT Environments Enterprise Software   Get critical data off paper and into SharePoint! Watch the video.   Simpana® 10 software: an exponential leap forward Hardware   The 2013 Toughpad™ tablets. Rugged, secure and built for business.   Rugged and reliable Panasonic Toughbook® mobile computers.   Rugged and reliable Panasonic Toughbook® mobile computers Innovation   The best document scanner for you? Try KODAK's scanner selector   Brocade's mission: Making networks easier to deploy, manage, and scale. Laptops & Tablets   Rugged and reliable Panasonic Toughbook® mobile computers. Mobile Apps   Build great mobile apps that drive engagement. Mobile Tech   Rugged and reliable Panasonic Toughbook® mobile computers Small Business   The best document scanner for you? Try KODAK's scanner selector Tech Trends   APC makes it easy for you to focus on business growth, not downtime.

Network Security Spotlight

Syrian Electronic Army Hacks Financial Times The Financial Times is the latest victim of the Syrian Electronic Army, a group that supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The U.K.-based newspaper said a blog and its Twitter accounts were hacked.   Patch Tuesday Hyper Focuses on IE 8 Microsoft on Tuesday issued 10 security bulletins that fix 33 vulnerabilities. These updates include MS13-038, which will address the Internet Explorer 8 issue described in Security Advisory 2847140.   Surge of Venture Capital Buoys Tech Security Sector With companies and governments spending billions to repel cyberthreats, a surge of venture capital is pouring into companies developing cybersecurity technologies, the front line of the conflict.

Enterprise Hardware Spotlight

U.S. Defense Department Gives iOS 6 Security OK In a vote of confidence for Apple's iOS devices, the Defense Department has given the all-clear for employees to use iPads and iPhones for work. But only those running iOS 6, and only if issued by the government.   Cisco Surges After Profit Exceeds Analysts' Estimates Networking equipment giant Cisco's net income jumped 14 percent in the latest quarter as revenue at all four of its divisions rose for the first time in a year and a half, as tech spending increases.   HP and SAP Team To Advance HANA Database Technology The two tech leaders are working on a system that SAP says could fundamentally change the database market. HANA is SAP's technology that keeps data in-memory, for super fast processing.

Mobile Enterprise Spotlight

What's in Store for Apple's iOS 7? There's been talk recently that Apple's products are beginning to coast on their glorious past. So, with Apple's big Worldwide Developers Conference opening next month, speculation about iOS 7 is heating up.   Google Glass Raises Congressional Privacy Concerns The buzz around Google Glass continues, but it's not all good. Some in Congress have questions. "We are curious whether this new technology could infringe on the privacy of average Americans," their letter to Google says.   Windows Phone Now No. 3 in Market, BlackBerry No. 4 Has Microsoft Phone moved into a coveted though distant third place for smartphone platforms behind Google's Android and Apple's iOS? A new report says yes, while BlackBerry has slipped to No. 4.

Enterprise Technology Spotlight

U.S. Could Use Cyberattack on Syrian Air Defenses The Pentagon has cyberattack capabilities that allow the U.S. military to help blind Syrian air defenses without firing a shot -- abilities central to a debate over whether to intervene in the 2-year-old civil war.   HP and SAP Team To Advance HANA Database Technology The two tech leaders are working on a system that SAP says could fundamentally change the database market. HANA is SAP's technology that keeps data in-memory, for super fast processing.   Cloud Computing Gains Another Competitor with Google Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure now have a full-on rival in Google, with its I/O announcement that it is opening its hosted Compute Engine environment for virtual machines to all comers.

Navigation NewsFactor Network Home/Top News | Enterprise I.T. | Cloud & Virtualization | Applications | Unified Communications | Mobile Tech | Hardware | Business Intelligence World Wide Web | Network Security | Data Storage | Small Business | Microsoft/Windows | Apple/Mac | Linux/Open Source | Personal Tech Press Releases NewsFactor Network Enterprise I.T. Sites NewsFactor Technology News | Enterprise Security Today | CRM Daily NewsFactor Business and Innovation Sites Sci-Tech Today | NewsFactor Business Report NewsFactor Services FreeNewsFeed | Free Newsletters | About NewsFactor Network | How To Contact Us | Article Reprints | Careers @ NewsFactor | Services for PR Pros | Top Tech Wire | How To Advertise Privacy Policy | Terms of Service © Copyright 2000-2013 NewsFactor Network. All rights reserved. Article rating technology by Blogowogo. Member of Accuserve Ad Network.