100+ million tablets to ship in 2012

ABI Research predict tablet sales will reach more than 100 million in 2012, the figures are based on a very successful first quarter, where 25 million tablets were sold with Apple gaining the lions share of the market.

Figures from ABI show the April to June quarter of 2012 set a new record for media tablet shipments reaching nearly 25 million units with total shipments growing 36% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) and 77% year-over-year (YoY).

Apple iPad shipments represented nearly 69% of worldwide volumes for the period, with Samsung trailing in second place with 8.1% of the market and ASUS (4.0%).  Unfortunately for RIM it’s policy of drastic price cutting on the Playbook has failed to have any success, with the Canadian company experiencing the most significant decline with just 1% of the market.

Apple ship 17 million iPads in Q2

“Most impressive about Apple’s 17.0 million tablet shipments in 2Q’2012 was it nearly matched 2010 total worldwide shipments of 17.3 million for all vendors,” says Jeff Orr, senior practice director for mobile devices.

Apple representatives noted that nearly 1 million of its iPad 2 devices were shipped to US education customers during the period, which contributed to the company’s growth but also its continuing average selling price (ASP) decline.  ABI Research estimates a 4% drop in ASP for the company QoQ and nearly 19% YoY.

Despite shipment restrictions imposed on Samsung, the Korean manufacturer maintained its second-place share for 2Q’2012, followed by Amazon and ASUS.

New vendors and products are entering the fray during the second half of the year, including tablets from Google and Microsoft.  ABI Research expects the new products to impact share – both positively from Google Nexus 7 and negatively from Microsoft’s Surface tablets – of Google’s Android OS used on most tablet models.  “The tablet market is on track for 102 to 110 million shipments worldwide for full-year 2012,” adds Orr.

3G tablet sales slow as recession hits

Interestingly, the majority of tablet shipments are now Wi-Fi only. In 2Q’2012, less than 27% of new shipments included a mobile broadband (3G/4G) modem module, down 12% YoY. ABI explain the reduction in 3G connected devices is down to, “A more competitive marketplace and consumers looking to keep personal expenses down.”