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IDC: Tablet shipments sluggish, but bright spot lies in enterprise

Market research firm IDC released its second quarter report Thursday, with analysts affirming that the days of astronomical year-over-year growth of tablet shipments are over.
Written by Natalie Gagliordi, Contributor
Screen Shot 2014-07-24 at 10.23.34 AM

Market research firm IDC released its second quarter tablet report Thursday, with analysts affirming that the days of astronomical year-over-year growth of tablet shipments are over, with the latest estimates coming in at a forecast of just 11 percent. While that's still a double-digit growth figure, it's a far cry from the 52 percent growth the tablet industry enjoyed just a year ago. 

Apple clocked in at the top of the list for total tablet shipments despite an overall decline, with 13.3 million units shipped in the second quarter. Apple archrival Samsung managed to hold on to its second place position, even as its market share slipped to 17.2 percent.

Lenovo, on the other hand, saw positive movement between quarters, surpassing ASUS and moving into the third spot in the tablet market with 2.4 million units shipped. The top five was rounded out by ASUS and Acer, with 4.6 percent and 2.0 percent share, respectively.

It seems the more smartphone screens grow in size, the more tablet forecasts take a nosedive. According to IDC tablet research director Jean Philippe Bouchard, the tablet market is still being impacted by the rise of large-screen smartphones, as well as longer-than-anticipated ownership cycles.

But the bright spot here could be the enterprise, as Bouchard said the recent Apple/IBM partnership will boost tablet usage with more enterprise-specific offerings.

We believe that stronger commercial demand for tablets in the second half of 2014 will help the market grow and that we will see more enterprise-specific offerings, as illustrated by the Apple and IBM partnership, come to market.

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