IDC: Shipments of Android tablets will surpass Apple iPad shipments in 2013

IDC: Shipments of Android tablets will surpass Apple iPad shipments in 2013Market research firm IDC has predicted in its latest report, released on Tuesday, that the tablet market will witness notable growth in 2013; with the shipments of tablets powered by Google's Android mobile OS likely to surpass the shipments of the Apple iPad.

According to IDC's projections, Android-based tablets will likely account for 48.8 percent of total tablet shipments this year; while the shipments of the Apple iPad will witness a plunge from 51 percent of the market in
2012 to 46 percent this year.

Predicting a "surge in smaller, more affordable slate devices," IDC also made an upward revision in its shipments forecast for the tablet market for 2013 to 190.9 million units, from its previously estimated 172.4 million units.

Going by the IDC statistics, tablet shipments will probably reach more than 350 million units in by the end of the year 2017; with Android and iOS tablets giving up some portion of their market share to tablets based on Microsoft's Windows software, in the long run.

Drawing attention to the fact that nearly 50 percent of the tablets shipped during the ongoing quarter were "below 8 inches in size screen," IDC research analyst Jitesh Ubrani said in a statement that, in terms of shipments, IDC expects "smaller tablets to continue growing in 2013;" and added: "Vendors are moving quickly to compete in this space."