Apple's iPad has pretty much been dominating the tablet market ever since it was released in April of last year, but we're finally beginning to see other slates, like the Motorola XOOM, come out that can challenge the iPad and steal its crown. According to one analyst, the XOOM and its Android tablet brethren will be successful in dethroning the iPad, although it may take a little time.
Speaking with investors, RBC Capital Markets General Manager Mike Abramsky recently said that, while the iPad "may continue to set the bar high for experiece," Android-powered tablets are likely to become the dominant force in the tablet world, commanding around 40 percent market share by 2014. Android will owe its success to the various manufacturers that produce tablets using it, Abramsky says, although the sheer number of OEMs entering the market means that there's bound to be a few that must drop out of the Android tablet game. Additionally, the tablet market as a whole is slated to do pretty well over the next few years, as RBC estimates that revenues from tablets could jump from $11 billion in 2011 all the way to $70 billion in 2014.
Over the past few months, we've seen Android taking control of the smartphone market (in terms of market share) thanks to a its wide variety of devices with different form factors, from different manufacturers, and on different carriers. I wouldn't be surprised if things in the tablet world followed the same path, although it might take a little longer. To do that, Android manufacturers are going to need to push out some pretty compelling products, especially since a tablet is still viewed by many as more of a luxury device when compared to a cell phone. The XOOM could be the start of that, but we'll have to wait a little while to see how quickly consumers swarm to the Honeycomb-powered device, if they do at all. What do you all think about Mike Abramsky's claims? Will Android be the king of the tablet hill when 2014 rolls around?
Via BGR