More than 10 million media tablets were shipped in the fourth quarter of 2010 (4Q10), according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Media Tablet and eReader Tracker. This is more than double the 4.5 million shipped in the third quarter. Apple's share came down from 93 percent in 3Q10 to 73 percent in 4Q10, but still reflected Apple's strong leadership position. Samsung's Galaxy Tab was the primary competitor in the holiday season, beating other players to market and capturing more than 17 percent share. A number of smaller regional players also participated.
The Tracker showed that the eReader market also picked up significantly in the fourth quarter. Strong sales of Amazon's Kindle, which was refreshed in August and priced more aggressively, as well as significant gains from competitors such as Pandigital, Barnes & Noble, Hanvon, and Sony among others, contributed to market growth.
In 4Q10, the eReader market more than doubled volume from the previous quarter, with more than 6 million units shipped for the quarter, bringing the full-year total to 12.8 million units shipped. eReader shipments were also up more than 325 percent from 2009 when roughly 3 million units were shipped. The strong growth reflects a more competitive offering as well as widening interest in the category, including a boost from media tablet press and much lower pricing.
According to IDC, media tablets market evolution will be driven not only by product introductions from PC, consumer electronics, and mobile phone vendors, but also by expanded distribution channels (with mobile operators playing a key role) and commercial adoption by businesses. The US, Western Europe and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) regions accounted for 89 percent of all media tablet shipments in 4Q10. Although the US remained the largest country market, Western Europe and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) grew almost twice as fast from 3Q10 to 4Q10. Western Europe also saw a slightly larger jump in shipments in 4Q10.
The Worldwide Quarterly Media Tablet and eReader Tracker includes quarterly shipment and forecast analysis for over 30 countries including market size and vendor share. Detailed market segmentation and product attributes such as operating system, connectivity and storage capacity are also provided.
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