By launching the iPad tablet, Apple has captured almost the whole market of tablet internet globally because currently 95% of tablets sold worldwide have the iOS operating system installed. On the 2nd and 3rd places are the tablets running the Android operating system plus the "Other operating systems" category. Regarding the actual number of tablets sold in each semester: the iPad tablet registers 4.2 million units sold in the 3rd semester of 2010, Android tablets only register around 100.000 units sold and the rest of the tablets total approximately 100.00 units sold.
Global tablet shipments grew 26 percent sequentially to reach 4.4 million units in Q3 2010. Apple was the clear market leader during the quarter, capturing an impressive 95 percent share with the iPad and beating Android into second place.
The tablet wars are up and running. Apple has quickly leveraged its famous brand, an extensive retail presence and user-friendly design to develop the tablet segment into a multi-billion-dollar global business. Android, Microsoft, MeeGo, webOS, Blackberry and other platforms are trailing in Apple's wake and they already have a lot of ground to make up.
Although the iPad is now the "queen" of tablets globally, I am sure that things will change, especially since the Samsung Galaxy Tab is available for purchase and other tablets will soon be available. Not predicting that Apple will lose a lot of the market at the beginning, but probably that once the iPad 2 is launched, the rest of the tablets will go into the shade again and Apple will recover any lost percentages in the following months.
