Although the iPad is now more than two years old, it still remains the undisputed leader of the tablet market. According to the latest research from Gartner, the tablet market is expected to nearly double this year, but most of the devices sold will be iPads.
Despite the growing competition that Apple faces from Android tablets, including inexpensive devices like the NOOK Tablet and the Amazon Kindle Fire, Apple is expected to take only a very minor hit, and will likely continue to dominate the market through at least 2016.
Electronista reports:
“Despite PC vendors and phone manufacturers wanting a piece of the pie and launching themselves into the media tablet market, so far, we have seen very limited success outside of Apple with its iPad,” said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner. “As vendors struggled to compete on price and differentiate enough on either the hardware or ecosystem, inventories were built and only 60 million units actually reached the hands of consumers across the world. The situation has not improved in early 2012, when the arrival of the new iPad has reset the benchmark for the product to beat.”
While the gap between the iPad and its competitors is likely to narrow, it’s still extremely impressive that Apple’s competitors can’t seem to catch up with the iPad. Then again, what else would you expect from the company that created the tablet as we know it?
