We've been watching the Android v. iOS battle for quite some time in the smartphone world, and with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, that war is going to move to the tablet division. No one is knows for sure which side will win, but Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has predicted that Android will become the king of the tablet hill. Munster explains that Apple's supply chain vendors are prepping to manufacture 45 million iPads for the next year, but he believes that that number will fall somewhere around 20-25 million. Those numbers will still make the iPad a success, sure, but Munster believes that Android tablets will bring some stiff competition and eventually win out over the iPad. Still, the iPad will have a good chunk of the market, with MeeGo following behind it. As for Microsoft? Munster says that it'll be tough for them to gain any relevance in the tablet space.
Even though Munster doesn't believe that Apple will move as many iPads as others think, he has said that the iPad could be king well into 2011. I have to agree with him, especially considering that going into 2011, the only major Android tablet on the market will be the Galaxy Tab. As we see Motorola, HTC, LG, and other manufacturers release their Android-powered tablets, though, I wouldn't be surprised to see Google's green robot stealing some market share. There will definitely be some powerful, attractive Android tablets, and the situation will be a mirror image of the one in the smartphone world now: many Android tablets from multiple manufacturers and the one iPad (with different capacities). So now we pose the question to you, readers: how do you think the tablet wars will play out?
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