Android moves to 39 percent tablet market share

Android is well on its way to controlling the tablet market, although Apple continues to see impressive growth in the sector, as well.

Apple, which at one point had 97 percent of the global market share, is down to 57.6 percent share, followed by 39.1 percent for Android. In the Q4 2011, Apple sold 15.4 million iPads while a handful of manufacturers including Asus, Motorola, HTC and Samsung sold 10.5 million Android-based tablets.

Microsoft was a distant third with 1.5 percent share, with 400,000 Windows 7 tablets being sold during the quarter.

To show how strong Android's growth is, Apple had 68.2 percent share in the Q4 2010, and Android was in second at 29 percent. Says one analyst: "Dozens of Android models distributed across multiple countries by numerous brands such as Amazon, Samsung, Asus and others have been driving volumes. Android is so far proving relatively popular with tablet manufacturers despite nagging concerns about fragmentation of Android's operating system, user-interface and app store ecosystem."

Two generations in and Apple still has a strong lead in a market that is seeing exponential growth, but will Android 4.0 finally put fragmentation problems to rest?

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Jan 2012 21:48

wspdl

Im so sick and tired of hearing about how Android is taking over IOS
lets look at the real picture 1 company "Apple" is being challenged by dozens of other company's so in truth who cares. Until i hear of just one company threatening IOS then its news until then who cares. Maybe its just me but i have to congratulate Apple for making money everyone whos hating on them wouldn't be saying anything if it was their company making that much money. Im not a fan-boy of apple i can just appreciate making money.Now if Microsoft started taking over from Apple then its news until then its just spam.

27.1.2012 09:27 #1

robertmro

The facts is, these are cheap imitations for people who can't afford the real thing.

27.1.2012 10:55 #2

ThePastor

The fact is... no one cares about how much money Apple makes, only that the "one company" no longer controls the market.

I fully expect to see the other arguments in here as well...
"The Kindle Fire is no iPad"
"The iPad is still better"
ect

But that doesn't change the fact that for those of us who believe in market forces, data freedom, and non-proprietary formats then this is very, very good news.

Keep worshiping at the alter of "i" ... I'll keep smiling as the failing Apple market strategy continues to die its slow death as it did with the PC market.

"But the bigger point here is that UMG has effectively admitted this takedown was never about copyright. They demanded YouTube censor Megaupload and justify that by saying they have a contract which allows it so its fine. Its painfully clear what they would do with a law like SOPA that gives them much more power"

27.1.2012 12:24 #3

plutonash

Once windows 8 tablets arrive and if they live up to expectations, I wouldn't see why youd get an android tablet unless you really just wanted to have fun with it. I can see the iPad still surviving but if you can play games and what not on windows 8 tablets, while also using enterprise apps, why get an android tablet?

"Cable thief is a victimless crime."

27.1.2012 13:26 #4

ThePastor

I'm very curious about the WinTabs as well. The idea of a fully functional Windows machine that boots instantly on a tablet is very powerful.
We'll see. :D

27.1.2012 13:38 #5

GernBlan

Originally posted by robertmro: The facts is, these are cheap imitations for people who can't afford the real thing. I spent $500 on my Android tablet after researching the heck out of my decision. It really didn't take me long to figure out that an iPad is not the tablet I wanted -- it was one of the first tablets I weeded out.

Trust me, I can afford whatever I want. I've bought two iPads for my kids because that's what they wanted. I wanted an Android tablet, so that is what I purchased. I know there are many others just like me where budget is no factor in choosing Android over Apple.

Originally posted by ThePastor: The fact is... no one cares about how much money Apple makes, only that the "one company" no longer controls the market.

<SNIP>

But that doesn't change the fact that for those of us who believe in market forces, data freedom, and non-proprietary formats then this is very, very good news.

Keep worshiping at the alter of "i" ... I'll keep smiling as the failing Apple market strategy continues to die its slow death as it did with the PC market. ^^^This...EXACTLY THIS.

The fact is that true techies have always hated Apple because they're fluffy, proprietary nonsense "technology". The internet has been a household word for a couple of decades now, but still most people don't realize that it's the techies that ultimately dictate the technology market -- not teenagers who think it's "kewl" to have the latest iCrap.

Apple is and always has been a trend. They should be commended for keeping a trend alive for so long, but they're still just a trend with very numbered days in the grand scheme of everything tech.

27.1.2012 17:32 #6

pmshah

Originally posted by wspdl: Im so sick and tired of hearing about how Android is taking over IOS
lets look at the real picture 1 company "Apple" is being challenged by dozens of other company's so in truth who cares. Until i hear of just one company threatening IOS then its news until then who cares. Maybe its just me but i have to congratulate Apple for making money everyone whos hating on them wouldn't be saying anything if it was their company making that much money. Im not a fan-boy of apple i can just appreciate making money.Now if Microsoft started taking over from Apple then its news until then its just spam. You are countering your own argument with Windows analogy. Even if Windows Phone OS were to overtake iPhone OS in sheer numbers it would still be on the backs of numerous manufacturers who would have licensed the OS from Microsoft.

How can you justify the case of Windows OS and negate Android OS?

@ robertmro

The facts is, these are cheap imitations for people who can't afford the real thing.

Not True. Other than bragging right you don't get anything.

29.1.2012 00:25 #7

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