14 DAY TRIAL // International Data Corporation often makes marketing forecasts based on financial results of companies and product shipment reports. The latest one is about the tablet market and is quite encouraging.
While the PC market continues to drag its feet, even with the recent price cuts to Microsoft's Windows operating system, the tablet segment is doing much better.
IDC expects a significant number of low-cost tablets to make their appearance this year (2013), many of them with screen sizes of 7 inches or thereabouts.
Android-based units will increase their market share at Apple's expense, while Windows will stay as a very small niche.
For those who want numbers, Android will have a share of 48.8% (versus 41.5% in 2012) and Apple iOS will go from 51% to 46% (iPad).
Overall, there should be 190.9 million shipments worldwide, more than the 172.4 million forecast previously made by IDC. The figure will keep growing, until it reaches 350 million at the end of 2017.
"One in every two tablets shipped in the first quarter of 2013 was below 8-inch in screen size. And in terms of shipments, we expect smaller tablets to continue growing in 2013 and beyond," said Jitesh Ubrani, research analyst for IDC.
"Vendors are moving quickly to compete in this space as consumers realize that these small devices are often more ideal than larger tablets for their daily consumption habits."
Windows-based tablets will only scrape 7.4% in 2017. A visible difference compared to the 1% in 2012, but not a large one in the grand scheme of things. And unless the Windows RT camp does something shocking, the growth will stay under 3%.
"Microsoft's decision to push two different tablet operating systems, Windows 8 and Windows RT, has yielded poor results in the market so far," said Tom Mainelli, research director of tablets at IDC.
"Consumers aren't buying Windows RT's value proposition, and in the long term IDC thinks Microsoft and its partners would be better served by focusing their attention on improving Windows 8. Such a focus could drive better share growth in the tablet category down the road."