Sponsorship Link
Apple Inc.’s iPad tablet is unlikely to face a competitor until next year and is set to maintain a dominant share in the tablet market at least through 2012, according to market research firm iSuppli Corp.
/
Related Articles
iSuppli has identified Android- and Windows 7-based tablets from Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Inc. and Lenovo as iPad competitors, and it believes none of these is a serious competitor to the iPad from a solution perspective.
That said, iSuppli believes the most interesting near-term iPad competition is likely to come from HP though the iPad challenger is unlikely to appear before 2011.
Also, iSuppli dismissed rumors that have surfaced claiming that Google will release a Chrome OS tablet on Nov. 26. Any touch-enabled Chrome-based device would be more likely to appear in 2011 or beyond, the market research firm said.
Must Read
Rumors are also prevalent regarding Research in Motion after its recent purchase of the BlackPad domain name.
Follow us
Leaked images of a Samsung tablet, similar to its Galaxy phone, are now in wide circulation. iSuppli said this is probably the best example to date of a competitor trying to link the smart phone/tablet experience similar to what Apple has done with its iPhone/iPad.
“Competitors face some serious obstacles in their efforts to match the total iPad package,” said Rhoda Alexander, director of monitor research at iSuppli. “We don’t see anything in the marketplace at present that seems likely to rival what Apple is offering in tablets today.”
The iPad will account for 74.1 percent of global tablet shipments in 2010, while the rest consist of a mix of older PC-type tablet products and competitive slates.
Apple still will maintain a prevailing 70.4 percent share of shipments despite the arrival of the first real iPad competitors next year, iSuppli said. Even in 2012, the iPad will continue to control nearly two-thirds of shipments, at 61.7 percent.
Apple's iPad is a tablet computer marketed as a platform for audio and visual media such as books, periodicals, movies, music, and games, as well as web content. Apple released the iPad in April 2010, and sold 3 million of the devices in 80 days.
Stock analysis firm Trefis expects Apple to sell around 10 million iPads in all of 2010.
