Android Tablets Market Share Reach 20 or 30 Percent?
Android tablets in the past 12 months have taken 20 percent market share away from the iPad, according to a recent posting by ABI Research.
Twenty percent is a significant jump compared to the 2nd quarter of 2010 when Android tablets made up less than 3 percent of the market share. But according to ABI Research, Android doesn't pose a significant challenge to the iPad.
"No single vendor using Android (or any other OS) has been able to mount a significant challenge against it," reads the report.
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Expanding more on this point, Jeff Orr, ABI Research mobile devices group director, commented, “Many vendors have introduced media tablets, but none are separating themselves from the pack to pose a serious threat to Apple. In fact, most have introduced products at prices higher than similarly-configured iPads. Apple, never a company to be waiting for others, has introduced its second-generation iPad media tablet while keeping product pricing unchanged.”
According to the posting, "fragmentation," as in Android having three different software versions simultaneously across media tablets, is hindering the growth of Android tablets in the market. It suggests that app developers may wait on developing apps until the market potential is significant.
On a different note, at least two other sources have reported that Android tablets have reached at least 30 percent market share as opposed to ABI Research's claimed 20 percent.
Strategy Analytics, author of a Q2 2011 report on Global Tablet OS Market Share, is reporting Android dominating 30.1 percent of the market share and Apple dominating 61.3 percent.
Despite the discrepancies, both reports seem to point out the fact that still no Android device has emerged to out-perform Apple's iPad.
