Tablet Market Shares, Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide,

WinterGreen Research announces that it has published a new study Tablets: Market Shares, Strategy, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2012 to 2018. The 2012 study has 334 pages, 104 tables and figures. Worldwide tablet markets continue to achieve significant growth as devices are used to access the Internet, provide large screen visualization of Internet digital data, and provide significant ease of use for a computing device.

According to Susan Eustis, lead author of the study, “The tablet market promises to eclipse the PC market, providing vivid images on modern displays. Tablet devices are used to write an email, send a text, search the web, or create a note. Portability and ease of use is featured. Units are evolving the capability to be controlled all with the voice, providing the ability to embed more capabilities that people have not even thought of yet. The ecosystem is a significant part of the tablet market.”

New functions on tablets will permit better keyboard entry. Instead of typing, the user can tap the microphone icon on the keyboard. Then they can say what they want to say while the iPad listens. When done, they can tap anywhere on the screen and, just like that, their spoken words become written words. Dictation also works with third-party apps, so they can do things like updating Facebook status or sharing a thought on Twitter feeds using spoken words.

The study documents the 2011 and H1 2012 quarterly shipments in dollars and units. It provides regional shipment analysis by company, a far more granular look at the industry than is available anywhere else at any price.

All PC makers have to switch to making tablet computers. PC computers are not going away, but they become significantly less important in a relative manner. Tablet and smartphone shipments have already eclipsed PC shipments and the trend is anticipated to continue. Tablets are mobile computing devices that provide Internet access and ultimately will do everything a PC will do, faster, cheaper, better. Who knew this would come along?

2012 has seen a significant jump in tablet screen quality; from resolution, to panel technology, to the types of LEDs, tablet screens look better. With rumors of Samsung getting ready to leapfrog all current tablet displays, things are bound to get only more exciting.

The expanding market opportunities related to mobile communication and media devices include transmission of digital data into and out of the tablets. The markets are highly competitive. The competition is expected to intensify significantly.

The features of the tablets and applications are evolving. Products support collaboration. Solutions are competitive. The industry is characterized by aggressive pricing practices, frequent product introductions, evolving design approaches and technologies, rapid adoption of technological and product advancements by competitors, and price sensitivity on the part of consumers and businesses.

Factors that influence commercial success in the wireless device and services market relate to usability above all: The designs of the iPad are genius designs because of the usability they bring. Development of an integrated hardware, software and service platform to support multiple wireless network standards is an essential aspect of market participation.

Worldwide tablet market revenues at $32 billion in 2011 are anticipated to reach $40.4 billion in 2012 and $181.5 billion by 2018. Tablet markets are forecast to grow at 29% year-over-year. This is in the context of a world communications infrastructure that is changing. Technology is enabling interaction, innovation, and sharing of knowledge in new ways. Tablets promise to bring significant new Internet access capability making the Internet available for increasingly productive, efficient use.

WinterGreen Research is an independent research organization funded by the sale of market research studies all over the world and by the implementation of ROI models that are used to calculate the total cost of ownership of equipment, services, and software. The company has 35 distributors worldwide, including Global Information Info Shop, Market Research.com, Research and Markets, Bloomberg, and Thompson Financial.