Manufacturers will ship more than 220 million tablet
computers by the end of 2013, up 53% over 2012 figures. The research firm
International Data Corp. (IDC) predicts that trend will slow over the next four
years as more people start buying phablets.
A phablet is a mobile device with a screen larger than
most smartphones, but not as large as the average tablet computer. Phablets
normally have a screen that’s between 5 in. and 7 in., such as the Samsung
Galaxy Note, an Android smartphone with a 5.7-in. screen.
IDC based its prediction on the fact that there’s not
enough difference between a 6-in. smartphone screen and a 7-in. tablet to
convince consumers to pay more for the tablet, according to a report in Information Week.
“In some markets, consumers are already making the
choice to buy a large smartphone rather than buying a small tablet, and as a
result, we’ve lowered our long-term forecast,” said Tom Mainelli, research
director, tablets, at IDC. “Meanwhile, in mature markets like the U.S., where
tablets have been shipping in large volumes since 2010 and are already well
established, we’re less concerned about big phones cannibalizing shipments and
more worried about market saturation.”
As it stands, Android and iOS will continue to be the
top tablet operating systems for years to come, but IDC predicts both will lose
ground over the next four years. The IDC forecast calls for the market share
for the Android system from Google to dip from nearly 61% in 2013 to 59% in
2017, while Apple iOS will slip from 35% to around 30%.
