Apple iPad set to dominate in 2011, too
Gartner has researched long hours, run all the numbers, and looked into its crystal ball and in the end determined that Apple’s iPad will the the dominant force in the tablet computer marketplace in 2011.
Gartner is often very, very close to right on the money (it’s their business, after all) and while their prediction that the iPad will be big in 2011 might not seem like a stretch given the scene in 2010, at worst it provides important confirmation of what the rest of us are thinking. And it is an important confirmation, given that the market for tablets in 2011 is expected to be about 55 million units in size. That’s a lot of tablets, and what Gartner is saying, according to a TechRadar article, is that the bulk of that market will once again belong to apple.
There has not really been a lot of competition for the iPad in 2010, though some reasonable contenders are beginning to appear now in time for the holidays and a bit after, such as the Samsung, HP, and RIM entrants. Thus far, there has been mainly a gaggle of middling Google Android iPad clones, undersized and under-powered. Some quotes from the Gartner report:
Apple’s dramatic expansion of iOS with the iPad and the continuing success of the iPod touch are important sales achievements in their own right. But more importantly they contribute to the strength of Apple’s ecosystem and the iPhone in a way that smartphone-only manufacturers cannot compete with.
To a developer, the iPod Touch and iPhone (and to a lesser extent the iPad) are effectively the same device and a single market opportunity.
While Android is increasingly available on media tablets and media players like the Galaxy Player, it lags far behind iOS’s multi-device presence.
Apple claims it is activating around 275,000 iOS devices per day on average – that’s a compelling market for any developer. And developers’ applications in turn attract users.
It is certain, then, that we can look forward to another year of iPod dominance, officially blessed by the Gartner Group, in 2011. Apple is still on that roll.
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November 11th, 2010
You only have to go to the Apple retail stores and some other retail shops that stock the iPad and you’ll know right away that the iPad is THE tablet to buy. Consumers are so hoping to get one in a stocking or under the tree for Christmas.
I’m willing to bet with global saturation, Apple can sell 32 to 40 million iPads next year. Especially when the updated iPad 2.0 is available. I think businesses are going to be buying the updated models by the truckload. The iPad will likely be the only tablet with a 9.7″ display well into the second half of 2011. Go, Apple.