Jan 18, 2011 14:16 GMT  ·  By

Market analysts company IDC, took a close look at how the tablet market evolved during 2010 and found that the popularity has grown similar to how e-readers have been getting more and more widespread.

IDC defines media tablets as slate devices with screen sizes of 5 to 14 inches and which run lightweight operating systems, like the Apple iOS or Google's Android.

Hardware-wise, both x86-based models and those powered by ARM processors are included, while a broad enough array of connectivity options and supported applications distinguish them from single-purpose devices like e-book readers.

Apparently, during the third quarter of 2010 alone, 4.8 million such units were shipped globally, marking a jump of 45.1 percent over the 3.3 million of Q2, 2010.

This, among other things, led to a total of almost 17 million media tablets being sold worldwide, almost 90 percent of which were, not surprisingly, covered by Apple's iPad.

"The media tablet market's rapid evolution will continue to accelerate in 4Q10 and beyond with new product and service introductions, channel expansion, price competition and experimentation with new use cases among consumers and enterprises," said Susan Kevorkian, research director, Mobile Connected Devices.

2011 is also poised to return a substantial growth in media tablet sales, especially now that so many new models are being launched.

As a stark contrast to last year's expected 17 million, about 44.6 million shipments are predicted for the ongoing year, 40% of which will be made in the US.

That figure should keep growing over the next few years (to 70.8 million in 2012, for instance), driven by price and feature competition, as well as new arrivals running Android and other operating systems.

Expanded distribution channels, like mobile operators, will also contribute, as will new slates from not just PC makers, but also consumer electronics and mobile phone suppliers.