IDC ups tablet forecast on strong iPad sales

International Data Corporation (IDC) has increased its forecast for the global sales of tablets to 107.4 million units for the year, up from its previous forecast of 106.1 million units, driven by higher sales of iPads.

"Demand for media tablets remains robust, and we see an increasing interest in the category from the commercial side," said Tom Mainelli, research director, Mobile Connected Devices at IDC. "We expect pending new products from major players, increasingly affordable mainstream devices, and a huge marketing blitz from Microsoft around Windows 8 to drive increased consumer interest in the category through the end of the year."

IDC also updated its forecast to shift a larger percentage of future units toward iOS and away from Android. IDC now expects iOS to grow its share of the market in 2012 to 62.5 per cent, up from 58.2 per cent in 2011. Meanwhile Android's share will slip from 38.7 per cent in 2011 to 36.5 per cent in 2012. IDC expects third-place BlackBerry to slip from 1.7 per cent to 1 per cent.

"After a very strong launch of new products in March, Apple's iPad shows few signs of slowing down," Mainelli added. "The addition of the Retina Display and 4G capabilities to the third-generation products clearly enticed many current owners to upgrade. And Apple's decision to keep two iPad 2s in the market at lower prices-moving the entry-level price down to $399-seems to be paying off as well. If Apple launches a sub-$300, 7-inch product into the market later this year as rumored, we expect the company's grip on this market to become even stronger."

In its Quarterly Media Tablet and eReader Tracker, IDC has also revised upward its 2013 forecast number from 137.4 million units to 142.8 million units. It sees worldwide shipments touching 222.1 million units in 2016.

While IDC increased its forecast for media tablets in 2012, the firm significantly lowered its forecast for eReaders in 2012.