By 
While the iPad still reigns as the tablet to beat, Android’s tablet presence is growing steadily. Over the past year the Google tablet collective has managed to siphon off 20 percent of the iPad’s global market share, according to ABI Research. The number is promising, but the reality is that no single tablet has been able to make a real dent in the dominance of Apple’s product. Analysts point towards pricing as Android slates tend to “de-feature” themselves to appeal on a cost level while the iPad 2 has been released with many upgrades and no change in the tablet’s $499 price tag. Still, the statistics mirror Android’s rise in the smartphone market, showing a group of devices gaining traction among consumers.
[via BGR]
I love my XOOM. Just waiting for it’s 4G upgrade.
My Galaxy Tab 10.1 is amazing. I always find new and interesting uses for it. I have almost stopped using my laptop all together.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is amazing and I have almost stopped using my laptop also.
What features does the iPad have where the Android tablet is “de-featuring”?
Appleness…. :D
Fruitiness?
I still don’t see a practical use for tablets, especially the iPad which has no flash, USB or memory slots.
My wife uses her iPad in lieu of carrying 30 lbs of books to class.
I can see this being a major plus for tablets.
The issue that Android will most likely encounter is the consumer realization that tablets are luxury goods that are fancy content consuming toys. For that reason it’s a completely different beast then smart phones. We also know that Apple is king of luxuries not necessities which presents a real challenge going forward. Android doesn’t have the advantage of tons of uninformed people at carrier stores buying devices they know nothing about here.
Bingo. Thats the main reason android tabets are finding it difficult sell.
so what makes it different than an ipad? obviously the price may seem steep for a tablet ALL consumer electronics are luxury devices xboxs, playstations, bluray players, tivos
a lot of you guys are confusing the smart phone industry to the REAL consumer electronics industry
people dont want an android tablet because it offers no “true” advantage to the average person. The only way android can pick up steam is if they can improve their software catalog with REAL publishers not just small companies
Tablets are consumption devices meaning people are looking to buy things on it but when your top game is robot defense its hard to sell the tablet with such a weak catalog
Kudos, most intelligent reply I’ve heard this year.
“Specs” only sell tablets to the *geek set*. In the end, it’s about making a product that works well and has the options that the majority of consumers want.
I’m just glad ppl have choices…
And some folks need to realize that choice….isnt a bad thing….
“…but the reality is that no single tablet has been able to make a real dent in the dominance of Apple’s product.”
That’s the way it should be, Android is not about a single manufacturer or product, that’s what makes it great.
“Android slates tend to “de-feature” themselves to appeal on a cost level…”
Honeycomb tablets all out-spec the iPad2.
No kidding, what was he smoking when he came up with this one? My Transformer out-specs the iPad2 in CPU, Screen Resolution, PPI, Storage and was cheaper than the cheapest iPad2… oh, and it has HDMI out, Micro-SD, SD, USB, the ability to serve as a USB Host… Please explain what feature this is missing that the iPad has.
apps?
While I agree that to be the case (for now), that has nothing to do with manufacturers “defeaturing” the hardware…
Apple needs to double down on the frivolous lawsuits before the competition takes more of the market. :P
Galaxy Tab 10.1 wifi only tethered to Verizon Droid Charge 4G LTE = pure bliss! 4G LTE is so stupid fast, I prefer it over my home and work wifi. How crazy is that?
Kind of sad actually. My home network is 50mbps down
Now imagine if a tablet was classified as “4 inches or bigger”.
Honeycomb has been out for only 6 months, and still Android took 20% within the past year. Which means a lot of Froyo and Gingerbread tablets were sold as well. Once Honeycomb/Ice Cream Sandwich matures and tablet prices drop…imagine how much larger that percent will be.
Love my Xoom. Does the vast majority of my casual computing.
is it really THAT impressive that 10+ devices have taken just a 20% marketshare? lets not forget that the XOOM did have a SUPERBOWL commercial.
Why wouldn’t it be? How are 10+ devices that all basically function the same way any different from one? Basically you either like Android tablets or you like iOS tablets (leaving out the others for simplicity). Same thing with phones almost but people just don’t want to hear it. They just want to keep believing that somehow multiple phones that are all very similar cause more people to buy them over one particular phone even though it doesn’t hold true for BlackBerry or WP.
not quite the android manufacturers are pretty big names moto and samsung have been in the industry longer than anyone they are known for getting 20% on their OWN not as a collective group.
Uh, compared to the hype surrounding the iPad from every major publication, a superbowl commercial is chickenfeed. No tablet has had as much ass-kissing and free advertising compared to the iPad.
What’s going to happen with the tablet market is the same that happened with the smartphone market. Android tablets are going to cover the low to the high end and constantly eat away at the iPad’s dominance. Prices are going to fall and they’ll keep gobbling market share forcing Apple to lower their prices once again.
I predicted two years from June 2011 Android would take 50% of the tablet market. Might be less than 18 months. No wonder Apple is suing like crazy.
Biggest feature of Android tablet: no f@#$ing iTunes.
Good for Android! I hope they continue to grab more of the market from Apple!
“not practical”? I’ve been using my Galaxy I800 instead of my HP laptop since May, in tandem with HP Win 7 desktop. Sold the laptop. Only negative is Samsung & Google/Android seem to have abandoned it for op sys upgrades in favor of Gal 10. Even so, I use this thing CONSTANTLY!