Acer exec says Apple's 'closed' iPad will drop to 20% market share

JT Wang, chairman of Acer, spoke with the Economic Daily News and shared his prediction that the market share of the iPad will drop from 100 percent to between 20 percent and 30 percent.

Acer, like seemingly every other PC maker, is expected to get into the tablet business following the success of Apple's iPad. That's a change from earlier this year, when the company said before the iPad launched that it had no intention of competing with Apple in that market.

Wang based his prediction on recent reports that Android-based smartphone shipments had surpassed the iPhone. Google's Android mobile operating system is available on a number of devices and carriers, while iOS is only available on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

In his comments, Wang, as translated by DigiTimes, said that he believes a "closed platform" like Apple's iOS will fall to an "open" one such as Google Android. Apple does not allow customization of its operating system, and must approve every application that is made available for download through its digital App Store.

But despite being "closed," Apple's App Store has many more options than the Android Market, with about a quarter-million applications currently available for download. Android, by comparison, has more than 70,000 applications.

Wang, however, believes that the success of Android is inevitable. He noted that based on his past experience, open platforms will succeed, and he believes "Android simply needs a little more time before it turns strong."

Released in April, Apple's iPad sold more than 3 million in its first 80 days of availability. Numerous competitors have been pitching their own alternatives, but so far a major, formidable competitor has not been released.