Slash LaneA total of 4.4 million tablets in total were sold in the September quarter, according to a report from research firm Strategy Analytics issued on Tuesday. Apple announced it sold 4.19 million iPads in the last quarter, representing the lion's share of the market.
Last quarter's total tablet sales were up 26 percent from the previous three-month frame, when total sales amounted to 3.5 million. Those sales, too, were driven by the launch of the iPad in April.
"The tablet wars are up and running," Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston reportedly said. "Apple has quickly leveraged its famous brand, extensive retail presence and user-friendly design to develop the tablet segment into a multi-billion-dollar global business."
Tablet-style devices running Google's Android mobile operating system represented just 2.3 percent of the total market in the third quarter. That share is expected to rise as devices like the Samsung Galaxy Tab come to market this fall.
Still, with its 2.3 percent, Android was the second-largest tablet platform on the market, beating Microsoft's Windows platform, which has been a part of stylus-based tablets for years.
In his company's most recent earnings report, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs highlighted the growth potential for the iPad in a market that is in its infancy. He and other executives noted they have been surprised, in particular, at how fast the iPad has been adopted in the corporate sector.
"We've got a tiger by the tail here, and this is a new model of computer which we've already got tens of millions of people trained on with the iPhone," Jobs said. "And that lends itself to lots of different aspects of life, both personal and business."
Stephen Silver
Charles Martin
Malcolm Owen
Christine McKee
45 Comments
I'm not sure how this is even news worthy because there isn't any real competition. This was suppose to be the year of the tablet and Apple is the only one that put out a real Tablet.
I am actually surprised its not 99% of the market. Until or if we ever see a real Tablet with something like HTC hardware running Android 3.0 then Apple will continue to have the entire market.
Also I didn't mean real as if the iPad is not a real Tablet I meant real competition from Google. Which doesn't exist at this point.
Until or if we ever see a real Tablet with something like HTC hardware running Android 3.0 then Apple will continue to have the entire market.
A lot of the announced stuff looks promising. But as of now, nothing really interesting has hit the market.
A lot of the announced stuff looks promising. But as of now, nothing really interesting has hit the market.
In my opinion, the only other tablet worth mentioning is the HP Tablet running WebOS. I'm sure the software and hardware will integrate nicely as Apple has managed to do with its iPad.
It will be interesting to see the iPad's relative numbers a year from now. Competing tablets will have all sorts of crazy configurations: USB ports, SD slots, removable SIM cards, dual cameras, and they'll tout Flash compatibility!
The iPad will be incrementally improved?it will probably gain a camera and maybe an SD slot (50% chance), but it will never get USB or removable SIM cards. iPad competitors, anti-iPad pundits and trolls will talk about the lack of USB as a major shortcoming of the iPad. The question will be whether the market, that is consumers, agree. I think only time will tell.
I think Apple has fairly specific design guidelines for iOS devices; i.e. they will never have USB or any physical I/O interface other than the 30-pin dock connector. I'm still 50/50 on the SD slot. If you must have USB, then move up to Mac OS X hardware.
I'm not sure how this is even news worthy because there isn't any real competition. This was suppose to be the year of the tablet and Apple is the only one that put out a real Tablet.
I am actually surprised its not 99% of the market. .....
Huh? Then, what exactly are the 3.5 million 'tablets' that the article says were sold in the previous quarter?
(Ah, I get it: Those were iPads too.)