According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics (http://www.strategyanalytics.com), global tablet shipments reached 17 million units in the third quarter of 2011. Apple’s iOS and Android dominate the worldwide market with a combined 94% share.
“Global tablet shipments reached 16.7 million units in Q3 2011, surging 280% from 4.4 million in Q3 2010,” says Peter King, director at Strategy Analytics. “Demand for tablets in developed and developing markets remains high. Apple shipped a record 11.1 million iPads and registered a healthy 67% global tablet market share during the third quarter of 2011. Apple iOS remains the world’s dominant tablet platform with the most established services ecosystem.”
Neil Mawston, Director at Strategy Analytics, adds: “Android captured 27% share of global tablet shipments in Q3 2011, rising twelve-fold from 2% a year earlier. Dozens of Android models distributed across multiple countries by numerous brands such as Samsung, Acer and others have been driving volumes. Industry eyes will next turn to the commercial launch of the Amazon Fire. Amazon’s strategy of minimizing its hardware price is set to ignite the entry-level tablet segment and attract more mass-market consumers.”
Microsoft captured a niche 2% global tablet share in Q3 2011. RIM and its QNX platform captured 1% global tablet share in Q3 2011.