Since the moment the iPad was unveiled by Apple on January 27th, 2010, the tech blogs of the digital world have been teeming with reports of the next big thing in the tablet marketplace.
Months into the iPad’s arrival in the consumer marketplace, we’re still waiting to see the mythical “iPad Killer.”
According to a new report from iSuppli, “Even with a flood of rival products in the works, Apple Inc.\’s iPad is unlikely to face a viable competitor until 2011, allowing the company to maintain a dominant share in the tablet market at least through 2012.”
In other words, mobile marketers looking to capitalize on the growth of the tablet market and the innumerable outlets for reaching targeted audiences through tablet-delivered content should keep their eyes planted on the nearest iPad.
The iPad will account for an overwhelming 74.1 percent of global tablet shipments in 2010, the reports notes, with the remaining 25.9 percent consisting of a mix of older PC-type tablet products and competitive slates. Even with iPad rivals rolling out in early 2011, Apple will “maintain a prevailing 70.4 percent share of shipments.”
Even in 2012, iSuppli proposes, the iPad will continue to control nearly two-thirds of shipments.
\”Although the iPad has been on the market for only a few months, powerful interests throughout the technology business are devoting enormous resources to challenge and topple Apple\’s domination in this fast-growing marketplace,\” said Rhoda Alexander, director of monitor research at iSuppli. \”However, if recent history is any lesson, it will take some time for these companies to get their products to market, longer for them to offer necessary software support and infrastructure, and an even lengthier period to begin to rival the overall user experience Apple is able to deliver.\”