In battle of iPad vs. Android-based Galaxy Tab, 85% prefer Apple

Analyst Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray revealed the results of a survey he and his team recently conducted. The Galaxy Tab got off to a relatively strong start, selling 600,000 worldwide in its first month of availability.

In the survey of 65 consumers, customers were asked to share what they believe the "perceived value" of each tablet is. Those polled indicated they felt the 3G-capable iPad is worth about $417 — less than its actual price of $629, but also much higher than the $283 perceived value of the Galaxy Tab.

The survey indicates that customers believe both products should have lower prices, but also shows that respondents felt that the iPad is a product of more valuable than the Android-based Galaxy Tab.

"We note that the Galaxy Tab is not available in a Wi-Fi only model, which would compare to the Wi-Fi only iPad at $499," Munster wrote. "That said, we would expect the results of a similar survey conducted with the less expensive Wi-Fi only iPad to amplify the difference in perceived value relative to the MSRP. In other words, the perceived value of an iPad is actually slightly closer to its base-MSRP than our survey suggests."

Munster said he expects both the iPad and Android-based tablets to succeed, but Apple has the advantage of a head start. He has forecast that the tablet market will grow 205 percent year over year in calendar year 2011, hitting 44.2 million units.

He has predicted that Apple will sell 13 million iPads in calendar year 2010, representing an 89 percent market share. But Apple's share is projected to dip to 53 percent in calendar year 2011, with sales of 23.3 million units. He sees Android taking a 33 percent share, with 14.4 million total units.

Munster has referred to the iPad as the "Mac of the masses," as Apple's tablet is already outselling the Mac. After tracking sales on Black Friday last week, Piper Jaffray found that consumer interest in the iPad was significantly strong for the holidays.