Mobile marketers may soon have more tablets to target with their mobile marketing campaigns than ever thought possible so soon.
Maynard Um with UBS Investment Research released one of his much-anticipated investor notes this week in which he prognosticated that Apple may very well sell upwards of 28 million iPads in 2011.
While tablet computers still have a long read to travel before the PC marketplace is decimated by the new, mobile competition, sales of tablet devices continue to further erode the PC market share in the United States.
“Sales of traditional notebooks appear to be feeling pressure from the iPad, causing a scramble by vendors to launch iPad-like tablets,” Um wrote. “We believe that a majority of this impact is occurring on the lower end of PC sales as the iPad is priced close enough to this range that it becomes attractive to consumers looking to make purchases within this segment.”
He did, however, make certain to note that “We are not sold that the iPad is purely cannibalizing PC sales, as the functionality of the iPad cannot yet deliver the functionality of notebook PCs. However, consumers who purchase iPads may be more willing to delay purchases and upgrades of existing PCs.”
Despite the substantial economic downturn of recent years, Apple’s tablet has managed to exceed sales expectations throughout 2010. As a result, Um believes that an economic rebound and greater competition in the tablet market will continue to drive future iPad and tablet sales in general through the roof.