Tablet sales set to soar 28% this year to $64 billion

[Rick]

As numerous industry analysts have long predicted, tablets continue to expand in popularity even as PC sales hit an all-time slump. ABI Research is the latest firm to lend its voice to the chorus singing of tablet growth, forecasting a 28 percent bump in tablet sales for 2013. Consequently, worldwide tablet revenues are expected to increase to a healthy $64 billion.

"The convenience and mobility benefits afforded by tablet computers are showing no signs of slowing interest after record unit shipments and revenues were reported by device vendors in 2012," ABI Research noted.

In addition to a revenue and sales boon for 2013, shipments are expected to increase by 38 percent to 250 million.

According to ABI, about 60 percent of last year's tablet shipments were iDevices while 37 percent housed some form of Android. Only three percent were some flavor of Windows or BlackBerry OS.

Meanwhile, Android-based tablets continue to gain on Apple's iPad line-up. Other analysts have also echoed this sentiment while some believe Android could finally overtake iOS later this year.

"The tide is definitely turning," said mobile devices senior practice director Jeff Orr in favor of Android tablets. However, he doesn't suspect that Apple will rest on its laurels while its market share continues to be chipped away.

ABI also warns that strong sales of the iPad Mini may be cannibalizing a significant portion of Apple's sales, particularly for its larger and more profitable (per unit) iPad. The firm believes 2013 will be the year in which industry analysts can determine just how significant that overlap is.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/52228-tablet-sales-set-to-soar-28-this-year-to-64-billion.html

 

[Jad Chaar]

Not surprised. With flash prices dropping like a rock, tablets will get even cheaper.

 

[Guest]

I wonder if that old cranky guy is still saying tablets are a fad?

 

[tipstir]

Mounting brackets are expensive for tablets, if you want to mount them under a kitchen cabinet or in your cubical, desk or bed. These are 360 degree flex type. Some use mic boom stand those cost more. So yeah tablets are soaring as it suppose too. By 2015 more tablets will be around, prices are dropping like files on the wall.

 

[oldikes]

Tablets are still useless to me. It takes too long to navigate the web, especially since I ALWAYS have multiple tabs open regardless of which device im using. The games are still arent serious enough, as theres only so much gaming you can create with a touch screen.

Generally, a touch screen input is simply too sluggish for everything I do on my pc ATM. Moving my hand 7 inches to tap something is not more convenient than moving my hand 1 inch to click something, whether thats with browsing, gaming, or other things I do on my pc (gimp, 3ds max, etc)

Im not blindly bashing tablets. I really wish I had a use for them. But as long as touch screens are the only primary input method, and developers for the apps I would use keep making angry birds 75 (doesnt make any sense, but im jking..), im sticking to my PC.

 

[TheBigFatClown]

Tablets are still useless to me. It takes too long to navigate the web, especially since I ALWAYS have multiple tabs open regardless of which device im using. The games are still arent serious enough, as theres only so much gaming you can create with a touch screen.

Generally, a touch screen input is simply too sluggish for everything I do on my pc ATM. Moving my hand 7 inches to tap something is not more convenient than moving my hand 1 inch to click something, whether thats with browsing, gaming, or other things I do on my pc (gimp, 3ds max, etc)

Im not blindly bashing tablets. I really wish I had a use for them. But as long as touch screens are the only primary input method, and developers for the apps I would use keep making angry birds 75 (doesnt make any sense, but im jking..), im sticking to my PC.

Same here. I think tablets have their place but the ONLY damn reason I would ever consider buying one is because they were designed to be used anywhere. What really creeps me out is that my sister just bought her husband a tablet for his birthday. And I thought it was so he could take it to work and use on his breaks. Turns out he doesn't even take it to work. Only uses it at home. That blows my mind. Why in the HELL why would you use a tablet in a situation where you dont HAVE to?!?!?

Do they have a place yes? Where is that place? Any place your going that you can't take a PC. The dental/doctors waiting room, to college to use between classes, to work to use on breaks.

You retards using tablets in your house need to seek professional counseling. If I am at home I will be sitting in my desk chair using my real "physical" keyboard and my "real" precision-pointing device while looking at my 21.5" Samsung monitor, on my dual-core IvyBridge and my stereo speakers.

The tablet "craze" is a disease gone wild. It's more an obsession of some sort versus people actually buying them because they need them.

If you are using a tablet in your house instead of a regular desktop computer please talk a counselor near you.

 

[TheBigFatClown]

Why is my scrollbar jumping back and forth in the Chrome browser? Techspot, you got some bugs in your JavaScript.

 

[Guest]

At home, after I set my Android tablet in it's docking station I will be sitting in my desk chair using my real "physical" keyboard and my "real" precision-pointing device while looking at my 21.5" Samsung monitor, Obviously you retards have not ever heard of a docking station for home or work.

 

[Lurker101]

I wonder if that old cranky guy is still saying tablets are a fad?

Yeah, I am still saying they're just gimmicky little toys.

 

[TheBigFatClown]

Tablets are a convenience item in my opinion, nothing more. It's like a fast food restaurant. Use it only if you have no other alternative.

 

[9Nails]

I have a 3rd gen iPad. Probably replace it with an Android by the end of the year, and inherit it down to someone else. My PC still runs one of the original Core 2 processors. And it runs pretty well for what I need it to do. I'm surprised at how much life a 5 year old computer has. I dropped in a SDD and a fresh GPU and it's still gaming like a champ.

 

[psycros]

28%? Maybe globally but not in the US. The tablet fad is nearing its peak here. The future will be all about convertible devices like the Yoga once the prices drop to high-end tablet range.

 

[Mbloof]

Tablets are still useless to me. It takes too long to navigate the web, especially since I ALWAYS have multiple tabs open regardless of which device im using. The games are still arent serious enough, as theres only so much gaming you can create with a touch screen.

I think your missing the usage pattern(s). I equate using my 'desktop' to 'working' and %95 of my non desktop usage is via a laptop while watching TV. Those without laptops OR any need/want or desire to type more than a few words or short sentences use Tablets instead.

A tablet is easier to store, quicker on/off and perfect for passing around the couch/living room. Great for checking the weather, getting a golf reservation, checking email or Facebook and viewing a free online TV schedule.

 

[PC nerd]

Why? They're so stupid and gimmicky!

 

[oldikes]

Sure tablets are easy to store, but so were netbooks. What was wrong with those? The answer is they were high tech and coooool enough.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

I wonder if that old cranky guy is still saying tablets are a fad?

Yeah, I am still saying they're just gimmicky little toys.

I was hoping captaincranky would jump in and defend himself.

How many tablet owners have working PCs? Most if not all, I'd bet. Tablets are only one reason PC sales are down. I'd bet a lot of PC sales in the early to mid 2000s were driven by windows 98 sucking so bad people thought they needed new PCs. That and new PC technology was actually worth upgrading for. The family PC of 2010 is perfectly find 3 years later and Windows 7 is much more stable and doesn't lead the naive user to think their PC is trash. I'd also wager a lot more people are building their own PCs today than 10 years ago.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

The other really interesting thing (to me anyway) about this is how it hurts Microsoft. The book the Innovator's Dilemma teaches us that big companies can fail when they get passed up by a smaller company who comes along and picks up a tiny piece of the market that isn't important to the big company, and it slowly grows until it gets overwhelms the bigger one.

Look at operating systems. MS is king, and they may have made the choice not to develop a mobile OS years ago because the market was too small. Instead Android was creating and now it's running on devices that are selling like crazy and PC's running windows aren't selling as well anymore. I don't think we're ever going to not have PCs, and I don't think we're going to stop using Windows anytime soon (I hope), but it's interesting how the OS king missed a giant opportunity in the mobile space.

 

[Jim$ter]

My Dad loves his iPad. Me personally, I sit at my computer with a 24" Screen or use my iPhone when I'm mobile. I think Tablets are ok for people who just want to surf the internet. If you want to do any type of work nothing beats a physical keyboard/mouse and large screen. I think the future will be you dock your smart device and it converts into a full fledged computer or tablet or basically anything you want. Once they are able to put a lot of computing power into the size of a smartphone I think this will become reality.

 

[tedstoy]

This should be a lesson to all OEM manufactures there is not a hardware trouble with computing devices, One software maker is having trouble.
Free software and Apple are selling well.
The sooner the Manufactures ditch the problematic software and embrace a another Eco. system the faster their sales and profit will recover, The trouble with all successful companies is that there is no management renewal and the Senior ranks stop listening to their customers and think that they are infallible;

 

[tedstoy]

Sure tablets are easy to store, but so were netbooks. What was wrong with those? The answer is they were high tech and coooool enough.

They had the wrong type of O/S

 

[oldikes]

They had the wrong type of O/S

Windows XP was the wrong type of OS?!?!?!?