Apple leads the way in Christmas tablet market explosion

Nearly half of all tablets sold last year shipped in the final quarter, according to FutureSource

With tablets dominating tech spend in the run up to Christmas, it's perhaps no surprise that sales of the touchy-feely form factor more than doubled in Q4.

Tablet shipments rose by 116 per cent year on year to 64 million in the three months to 31 December, according to analyst FutureSource, propelling the annual total to 136 million.

FutureSource puts the jump in sales down to the increase in smaller, cheaper tablets, with the iPad Mini leading the way, helping Apple to remain the market leader.

Limited supply of the seven-inch offering put a dent in its figure though, leading to missed opportunities, according to the consultancy.

Amazon maintained what FutureSource describes as a "comfortable market share" with its smaller Kindle Fire HD offering, while the lower-priced Android tablets fuelled demand of Asus and Google's Nexus 7 device.

Microsoft's Surface running Windows RT experienced "challenging sales", but FutureSource expects the second iteration, the Surface Pro, to reverse the poor figures.

A FutureSource spokesperson said: "The heightened demand for smaller and cheaper-priced tablets continues to impact the average retail price.

"Despite this price erosion, the overall value of the tablet market will continue to climb and prospects for the industry are extremely positive, with strong growth throughout the forecast period to 2016."

Research from technology market intelligence firm ABI Research predicts that number of tablet shipments in 2013 will hit the 146 million mark as businesses move to adopt.

The firm predicts that this year will see business interest in tablet devices grow by 19 per cent as more OEMs unveil workplace tablets.