Apple still leads as tablet shipments continue to grow: IDC report

Research firm, International Data Corporation (IDC), has put out figures for tablet shipments for Q4 of 2012, and the growth in this sector continues to outpace predictions. According to the report, a record total of 52.5 million units of tablets were shipped worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2012. The report states that the market grew at 75.3 percent year-on-year. The number of shipments was 29.9 million units Q4 of 2011. The report adds that the boom in sales was primarily due to lower average selling prices (ASPs), a wide range of new product offerings, and increased holiday spending. In terms of individual manufacturers, Apple firmly remains on top of the tablet ships market with its prized iPad. The tech-giant shipped 22.9 million units which was exactly in line with IDC’s forecast. The report adds that Apple saw a strong iPad mini launch, and the fourth generation iPad. Apple’s market share is currently at 43.6 percent, down from the 46.4 percent market share it had for Q3 of 2012. [caption id=“attachment_608517” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  An Apple iPad and a Samsung Galaxy tab. AFP[/caption] Apple saw a 48.1 percent shipment growth compared to Q4 2011, but its competition is growing faster. Rival Samsung is at number two and saw a 263 percent year-on-year growth as it shipped 7.9 million combined Android and Windows 8 tablets during the Q4 of 2012. Samsung now has a 15.1 percent share of the the market. Numbers three on the list was Amazon, which shipped 6 million tablets and has an 11.5 percent market share. Asus was at number four on the list with nearly 3.1 tablet shipments and a market share of 5.8 percent. Asus saw strong sales for the Google Nexus-7 inch tablet Microsoft’s entry into the market with Surface with Windows RT tablet wasn’t quite so successful, as it shipped just below 900,000 units in the quarter. Microsoft is due to launch the Surface Pro tablet this coming month which it is marketing as must-have for all business users since it runs Windows 8 Pro and offers 64GB and 128 GB space. However the space issue in the new Surface Pro has come under fire. For more on the click here . Incidentally Apple too just launched an upgraded version of the iPad with 128 GB space.