Even with increasing competition from Kindle Fire, Samsung Galaxy Tabs and Google's recently launched Nexus 7 tablet, Apple iPad still dominates the tablet market with 68 percent market share.
According to a new second quarter data provided by the International Data Corporation (IDC), Apple shipped 17 million iPads during Q2, up from 11.8 million units in the first quarter. IDC also estimates that the Cupertino tech giant's worldwide tablet shipment has reached 25 million units; up from 18.7 in the first quarter of 2012 representing a quarter-over-quarter increase of 33.6 percent.
This is the eighth consecutive quarter wherein Apple has shipped more tablets than any of its competitors.
The reason for the boost in the number is definitely the launch of the 'Resolutionary' New iPad in March.
"Apple built upon its strong March iPad launch and ended the quarter with its best-ever shipment total for the iPad, outrunning even the impressive shipment record it set in the fourth quarter of last year," said Tom Mainelli, research director, Mobile Connected Devices. "The vast majority of consumers continue to favor the iPad over competitors, and Apple is seeing increasingly strong interest in the device from vertical markets-especially education. While iPad shipment totals are beginning to slow a bit in mature markets where the device saw early traction, growth in other regions is clearly more than making up the difference."
Apple, however, is not the only tablet manufacturer that experienced this growth. The company's biggest rival Samsung, which is in the second rank, has also experienced exceptional growth in the second quarter with 2.4 million units shipped, up from 1.1 million units a year ago. Amazon, after its sluggish beginning in the first quarter, rebounded with 1.2 million units and secured the third position in the tablet market. ASUS, which comes next, has seen a growth of 115.5 percent in the second quarter from the previous quarter. Acer is in the fifth position and is the only company that saw year-over-year numbers decline. The company has 38.7 percent decline as it shipped 385,458 units this quarter, down from 629,222 units a year ago.
Meanwhile, IDC expects competition in the tablet space will increase in the remaining months of 2012. "In addition to major new products from Amazon and quite likely Apple, we can also expect an influx of Microsoft Windows 8 and Windows RT-based tablets starting in late October," said Bob O'Donnell, program vice president, Clients and Displays. "If anything, there's a real risk that people will have too many options from which to choose this holiday season. Consumers baffled by the differences between Amazon and Google versions of Android, or Windows 8 and Windows RT, may well default to market leader Apple. Or they may simply choose to remain on the sideline for another cycle."
