Tablets to overtake PCs by 2015 - move online or miss the market!

by Jeni Bone on 12 Jun 2012 The latest report from research organisation the Yankee Group predicts Apple's iPad will help tablet sales to jump from 25 million in 2011 to more than 134 million in 2015, a figure which would see the form factor overtake PC sales for the first time.

Apple’s iPad currently accounts for 51% of all tablets owned in the United States.

Developers are trying to keep pace with consumers’ appetite for portable devices for communication, entertainment and information. The figures are compelling. Mobile ad network provider InMobi reports an 88% growth in tablet impressions in the US on its network in the past six months.

The report, based on data from InMobi's global network across six continents and 200 countries, called North America Tablet Insights Report, claims that tablet impressions have grown nearly twice as fast as those on smartphones in North America.

That can be attributed to the larger screen size and the lower cost of tablets, says Anne Frisbie, Vice President and Managing Director, North America of InMobi. 'The nature of the tablet environment allows advertisers to create deep, rich ads that truly engage users and enhance their experiences—a trend that will positively continue in the future,' Frisbie predicts.

A larger screen size allows more scope for interactive features with nearly full-sized images, and without the need for scrolling (impossible on an iPhone).

Consumers are clearly enjoying the large-screen mobile experience, but Frisbie believes that marketers are not keeping up with the demand. 'Although many marketers have realized the power of mobile, many are still playing catch-up, and certainly consumers' adoption of mobile is faster than marketers.'

The report finds that while Apple still dominated Q1 with 71% of impression share versus Android’s 29%, Apple with its iPad lost 10.8% of its market to Android in just six months, driven largely by the Android-inside Kindle Fire. The top performing among tablets for sheer number of impressions are the iPad—again, with 71%, followed by the Kindle Fire which did not exist a year ago taking 9.2%. The Asus Eee Pad holds third place, with 5.2% of impressions in Q1—a boost of 2.5% from Q4 2011.

TetraMedia Publisher Rob Kothe commented today' ‘Over 50% of our audiences across our complete range of online marine publications are visiting our sites with mobile devices, both smart phones and increasing with tablets.

‘This means that research is being done on the fly. Once upon a time consumers took magazine or newspaper ad tear outs on the road, now they are looking at websites, finding places to call, dealerships to visit, products they want to buy. These latest figures from inMobi show this trend is going to accelerate and advertisers need to make sure they are maximising their online profile.’