The Nexus 7 reaches "Market Share" comparable to Kindle Fire in 3 months and Android prepares to eclipse Apple in the Android table marketAccording to IDC research, in the July-September period of 2012, Apple shipped 14 million devices, up 26 percent from 11 million a year ago, but the Apple market share fell from 60 percent in the third quarter of 2011 as the overall tablet market grew by 50 percent to nearly 28 million.
While Samsung's market share grew to 18 percent, from about 7 percent, as it more than quadrupled the number of tablets shipped to 5.1 million. The quarter saw the release of the Galaxy Note 10.1, a device built for use with a stylus.
Amazon.com Inc. was in third with its Kindle Fire, which had a 9 percent market share, based largely on strong start in November of 2011, but the effects of the late quarter release of the Fire HD remain to be seen.
No. 4 tablet maker AsusTek Computer Inc., which makes the
Nexus 7 for Google Inc., saw its shipments more than triple to 2.4 million. It had a share of 8.6 percent, up from 3.8 percent. Quite impressive for, the
Nexus 7, a tablet that saw it's start up in the first month of the quarter.
Amazon and Google will start shipping larger versions of their tablets in the first month of the 2012 forth quarter, offering the Google's Nexus 10 at 10.1 inches, while Amazon's will be 8.9 inches. Compared to the regular iPad is 9.7 inches. Samsung is making the larger Nexus tablet, while AsusTek will continue making the 7-inch one.
Windows 8 will be a factor in 2012 forth quarter sales for multiple vendors including Microsoft's own Surface. The competition, in the tablet market, is heating up so will Apple fall below 50% of the market in the final quarter of 2012 and how long will the $499 Apple "Price Point" stand?
Here are the top five manufacturers of tablets in the third quarter, as released by IDC on Monday:
Apple Inc., maker of the iPad, 14 million shipped worldwide, 50.4 percent share
Samsung Electronics Co., maker of Galaxy line, 5.1 million, 18.4 percent.
Amazon.com Inc., maker of Kindle Fire, 2.5 million, 9 percent
AsusTek Computer Inc., maker of Transformer line and Google's Nexus 7, 2.4 million, 8.6 percent
Lenovo Group Ltd., 400,000, 1.4 percent
Others, including Barnes & Noble Inc.'s Nook Tablet, 3.3 million, 12.2 percent