“Led by the iPad, tablet PCs will sell 19.4 million units in
2010, and soar to 208 million in 2014, according to Gartner.
Tablets will pressure sales of mini-notebooks, e-readers, media
players, and gaming devices, and perhaps even smartphones — but
devices based on Android and other open source OSes will fare
better than most against cannibalization, says the study.“Wordwide media tablet sales will reach 19.4 million units in
2010, according to a new research note from Gartner. That’s good
news for manufacturers such as Apple, whose bestselling iPad
(pictured) is driving much of that growth.“The research note suggests that tablet PC sales will increase
from 19.4 million units in 2010 to 54.7 million in 2011, then 103.4
million in 2012, and finally 208 million in 2014. Some 61 percent
of those sales in 2010 will come from the North American market,
but Gartner expects that percentage to dip to 43 percent by
2014.”