Market research firm ABI Research on Wednesday released sales data covering the global consumer tablet market in 2010. According to the firm, Apple’s iPad accounted for 85% of the media tablets sold in 2010, and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab was the second most popular tablet model with an 8% share. Finally, Archos’ tablet range occupied the No. 3 spot with roughly 2% of the global market. The rest of the companies that entered the space last year combined to make up 5% of the global market according to ABI’s numbers. While this data is in line with earlier findings reported by other firms, ABI holds an opposing position with regard to the tablet market’s impact on netbook computers and eReaders. “Device categories including netbooks and mobile broadband-enabled eBook Readers showed gains in year-over-year shipment numbers in 2010,” said ABI senior practice director Jeff Orr in a statement. “The hype that media tablets were displacing portable computers and dedicated CE device purchases simply didn’t become a reality.” While the emerging tablet market might not have had a significant impact on global PC sales in 2010, the market does appear to be sliding so far in 2011 according to recent first-quarter estimates from IDC. Hit the break for ABI’s full press release.
Apple iPad Held 85% Media Tablet Market Share in 2010
NEW YORK – April 20, 2011
Apple’s iPad commanded 85% of the market for media tablets in 2010, according to full-year figures reported by ABI Research. The tablet market surged in the second half of the year, but it wasn’t just tablets: according to senior practice director Jeff Orr, “Device categories including netbooks and mobile broadband-enabled eBook Readers showed gains in year-over-year shipment numbers in 2010. The hype that media tablets were displacing portable computers and dedicated CE device purchases simply didn’t become a reality.”
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab ranked a distant second to the iPad in market share, with about 8%, while Archos’s Internet Tablet range just barely moved the needle at 2%. These top three vendors accounted for 95% of the media tablet market between them.
However that breakdown isn’t carved in stone; Orr says, “Many new entrants are looking to differentiate themselves from the $600+ ASP of the iPad, so low-feature and low-cost designs will become common. We expect between 40 and 50 million media tablets to ship worldwide in 2011.”
What of the more distant future? There are some scenarios suggesting a possible leveling-off of media tablet demand around 2015-2016, but market and economic variables will multiply with each passing year. “With increasing choices for consumers and greater opportunities for businesses to consider ultra-mobile devices, we expect multiple device categories to benefit in the near-term,” adds Orr.
ABI Research’s “Tablets, Netbooks, and Mobile CE Market Data” provides forecasts for all Ultra-Mobile Devices (UMDs) including media tablets, netbooks, UMPCs, mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and six types of mobile broadband-enabled consumer electronics (CE) device including eBook Readers and Connected Personal Navigation Devices. Shipments, ASPs, and revenue for these devices are provided, with shipment and revenues for each type of UMD by region, customer type, processor platform, operating system, WPAN, WLAN and WWAN connectivity.
The database is part of the firm’s Tablets, Netbooks, and Mobile CE Research Service which also includes another Market Data product, Research Reports, ABI Insights, ABI Vendor Matrices, and analyst inquiry support.
