IDC: Apple to maintain media tablet stranglehold

iPad set to continue to command a 70-80 per cent share of the market this year, despite intensifying competition

Apple will hold off new entrants and continue to command about three-quarters of the media tablet market this year, IDC has predicted.

According to the market watcher, Apple saw its share of the media tablet market fall sharply from 93 per cent to 73 per cent between Q3 and Q4 2010. Samsung's Galaxy Tab was the primary competitor in the holiday season, capturing more than 17 per cent share from a standing start.

Overall, 10.1m media tablets were shipped in the final quarter of 2010, more than double the 4.5m shipped in Q3.

IDC said the market is on course to hit about 50m units in 2011.

Apple will begin shipping its much-vaunted iPad 2 (pictured) this month – before most of its competitors get round to launching even their first-generation media tablets.

IDC suggested Apple's rivals, including Samsung and Motorola with its Xoom tablet, would be hard-pressed to make much headway this year and predicted that Apple would maintain a 70-80 per cent share of the market.

"Other vendors and designs are expected to hit the market in earnest in the second half of 2011," said IDC.

"Many of these products will be more competitive in function, like the Xoom, but we expect only those from large vendors with significant marketing and channel structure, in addition to a few technologically competitive devices, to capture significant share."

Meanwhile, a new channel for media tablets is emerging in the form of telco operators, noted IDC. They accounted for nearly 14 per cent of all shipments in Q4, up from just one per cent in the previous quarter. Retailers and direct remained the channels with the highest share of shipments.