As further indication of the rise in importance and profile of the tablet segment in consumer electronics, research firm IDC has debuted its bespoke shipment tracker for this burgeoning form factor.
According to the analysts figures, the worldwide media tablet market grew 45.1 percent in 3Q10, with 4.8 million units shifted globally compared to 3.3 million in the previous quarter.
Not unsurprisingly, Apples iPad grabbed the lions share of the tablet sales, as IDC estimates that the Mac makers touchscreen line accounted for 90 percent of the shipments.
Defining words
The research house defines media tablets as devices with colour displays between five and 14 inches, running lightweight operating systems - such as iOS and Android and based on either x86 or ARM processors.
Samsungs 1 million-selling Galaxy Tab is noticeably absent from IDCs statistics, its introduction coming too late for inclusion in the third quarter analysis.
With the Korean manufacturer potentially priming an update to its well received 7-inch product at Mobile World Congress, plus RIMs PlayBook and Motorolas Xoom in the pipeline, the race for tablet supremacy is only just beginning.
Accelerated growth
"The media tablet market's rapid evolution will continue to accelerate in 4Q10 and beyond with new product and service introductions, channel expansion, price competition, and experimentation with new use cases among consumers and enterprises," said Susan Kevorkian, IDCs research director, Mobile Connected Devices.
Going forward, the analyst firm expects 17 million tablets (including Apples own reported 14.8 million iPads) to be shipped in the whole of 2010, and forecasts sales of 44.6 million and 70.8 million in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
[source: IDC]
Data & Research
With a degree in German up his sleeve Richard squares up to the following three questions every morning: FIFA or Pro Evo? XBox 360 or PS3? McNulty or Bunk?
Related Articles
as
News
Dec 20th, 2016
China's mobile eSports industry expected to generate $2.6 billion in revenue in 2016
News
Oct 30th, 2014
Smartphone wars: Samsung and Apple lead the way but Xiaomi, Lenovo and LG are catching up
Top Stories
News
1 hour, 10 minutes ago
Partner events are the latest trend in Monopoly GO!, Royal Match and Project Makeover
News
2 hours, 15 minutes ago
Belka Games lays off 20% of workforce as it becomes "more critical" of future titles
News
3 hours, 30 minutes ago
How user consent for personalised ads can significantly increase your Android revenue
News
3 hours, 40 minutes ago
Supercell invests in web3 startup GFAL led by King, EA and Activision Blizzard veterans
Feature
3 hours, 10 minutes ago
AI everywhere: Using neural networks for asset creation, marketing and more
Feature
Apr 30th, 2024
Hear MORE from the experts - eight MORE fabulous fireside chats from PGC London 2024
Events
Dubai GameExpo Summit 2024 | Middle East | May 1st |
The MENA Games Industry Awards 2024 | Middle East | May 2nd |
GameDev Atlantic 2024 | May 4th | |
Mobidictum Meetup Berlin May 2024 | Europe | May 7th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Israel Mobile Summit 2024 | Middle East | Jun 6th |
WN Conference Istanbul 2024 | Jun 11th | |
DevGAMM Vilnius 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |
Popular Stories
News
Apr 25th, 2024
Everyone loves Nintendo… Delta emulator hits 4.4 million downloads in its first week
News
Apr 23rd, 2024