Android Increases Its Share In The Tablet Market
Android Tablet, Google Android, Tablets
Apple have been dominating the tablet market ever since they launched the first iPad, but in the third quarter of 2012 Google's Android platform caught up slightly.
New research , conducted by Strategy Analytics, show that Android's share of the tablet market hit 41 per cent in Q3 2012. This is the highest market share the platform has ever had and is up 29 per cent compared to the same period last year.
No doubt Android's growth is due in part to the worldwide success of Google's Nexus 7 (pictured above) and the US sales of the Amazon Kindle Fire . While, the number of Android tablets to choose from is mind-boggling and only continues to grow adding to the total platform sales.
However, Android's growth is also due to lower than expected sales of Apple iPad's. Apple sold 14 million iPads in the quarter amounting to a 57 per cent market share which compares to a share of 64 per cent a year earlier.
The reduction in iPad sales was due to the imminent arrival of the iPad Mini, but also down to economic uncertainty among consumers. The same factors also led to a slower than expected growth of tablets in the quarter.
Global tablet sales totalled 25 million units in the quarter which is growth of just 43 per cent compared to the same period last year. This is the lowest growth since the tablet market stormed onto the scene in 2012.
3G expects the 4th quarter of 2012 to compensate somewhat for the disappointing 3rd quarter performance due to the launch of the iPad Mini and the continued success of the Kindle Fire and Nexus 7.
