ABI Research has published a report containing tablet sales figures for the third quarter of last year, and it was an iPad quarter. Of the 4.5 million tablets sold during that period, a whopping 4.2 million were iPads. This only left crumbs for the few competitors trying to bust into the tablet limelight.
To be fair, the only tablet released last year that garnered significant sales numbers (depending on who you believe) was the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The Tab wasn’t released in time to factor into these numbers so a similar report covering the following quarter would be interesting to see.
Apple didn’t invent the tablet, in spite of what some believe, but it perfected the product to give it mass appeal for the first time. There is no denying how compelling a user experience the iPad delivers. My Mom (pictured with iPad above), who has actively resisted touching a computer of any kind for her 80+ years, took to the iPad immediately when it was handed to her. She admitted she wasn’t intimidated by it at all, as it “invites you to touch it”. That is what competitors are faced with, and it’s not going to be an easy battle to win.
