The launch of Amazon's Kindle Fire may not have slowed iPad sales, but Apple's share of the tablet market is nonetheless slipping according to the latest figures published by IDC.
In a fourth quarter that saw 28.2 million tablets shipped worldwide a year on year increase of 185 percent Amazon stole much of the limelight with what IDC has branded an "impressive debut " after 4.7 million Kindle Fires hit the shop shelves.
That's 16.8 percent of all tablets shipped during the quarter, putting Amazon's device in second place behind the market leading iPad.
Widening the field
Indeed, IDC notes Kindle Fire hasn't been able to halt iPad's overall growth, with 15.4 million units shipped in Q4, up from 11.1 million units the previous quarter.
Instead, Amazon's ability to grow the market means that, in conjunction with Samsung's range of Galaxy Tabs, there are simply more Android devices out there, causing iPad's market share to fall from 61.5 percent in Q3 to 44.6 percent in Q4.
"Amazon's widely-reported entry into the media tablet market with a $199, 7-inch product seemed to raise consumers' awareness of the category worldwide despite the fact that the Fire shipped almost exclusively in the US in the fourth quarter," said research director of mobile connected devices Tom Mainelli.
"As a result, products across the pricing spectrum sold well, including everything from Apple's premium-priced iPads (which start at $499) to Pandigital's line of Android-based, entry-level tablets (which start at $120)."
Future focus
Kindle Fire's success means Android-based tablets now account for 44.6 percent of the market, up from 32.4 percent in Q3.
IDC expects Android's share to continue to grow in the coming quarters, with former also ran webOS disappearing from the picture completely thanks to TouchPad's demise and BlackBerry's PlayBook holding its 0.7 percent share.
Apple's iPad, however, will remain the best selling device for some time to come, with annual tablet shipments as a whole jumping to 198.2 million in 2016.
"As the sole vendor shipping iOS products, Apple will remain dominant in terms of worldwide vendor unit shipments," added Mainelli said.
"However, the sheer number of vendors shipping low-priced, Android-based tablets means that Google's OS will overtake Apple's in terms of worldwide market share by 2015. We expect iOS to remain the revenue market share leader through the end of our 2016 forecast period and beyond."
[source: IDC]
Data & Research
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.
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