2013 milestone for tablets

BOSTON, USA: On the introduction of the iPad in 2010, there were few people who saw the tablet market as having the potential to become bigger than the PC market.

According to Strategy Analytics research, 2013 will see this become reality, as Tablets will ship in higher volumes than Mobile PCs. The report, "Mobile Computing Device Cannibalization: The Game Has Changed", is forecasting that shipments of tablets in 2013 will reach 231 million, compared to 186 million Mobile PCs, a trend that will continue through 2017.

"The tablet has become firmly ingrained in the consumer mindset, and is now seen as one of the key go-to devices for consumers who want to undertake computing tasks on a mobile device," says Matt Wilkins, director, Tablets and Wearables. "As a result, the processors architectures, operating systems, and form factor of the tablet are playing dominant roles in the MCD space"; as analyzed in this new research from Strategy Analytics.

When considering the mobile computing device landscape, X86, ARM, Windows, iOS, and Android are all thrust into the ring as they compete for consumer mindshare and dollars. As a result, Apple, Google, and Microsoft are in a three-way battle for the mobile computing device, which by 2017 will see Google operating systems account for over 40 percent of MCD shipments.