Shipments of tablets running the Google Android operating system will overtake the iPad this year for the first time, the research firm IDC has predicted, as Apple cedes more mobile market share to hard-charging rivals around the globe.
A growing variety of smaller and less-expensive Android tablets from manufacturers including Google and Amazon.com will catch on this year with more consumers and chip away at the dominance Apple has enjoyed since the first iPad was introduced in 2010, IDC said Tuesday.