HAMPSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM — (Marketwire) — 09/21/11 — A new report by analyst firm Juniper Research forecasts that tablet shipments will reach 253 million by 2016, nearly a five-fold increase from the 55.2 million tablets the company expects to reach the market in 2011. With a second generation of Apple-s iPad hitting the market earlier this year, other smartphone vendors have followed suit: HTC, LG, Motorola and RIM launched first generation models in 2011. As other opportunities elsewhere in the PC market diminish, leading players from this space — including Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Toshiba — are also joining the fray.
Shipments of tablets with additional cellular connectivity are currently much lower than those with only WiFi network access, but Juniper forecasts the balance will shift significantly. Network access will play a key role; 4G networks in developed markets will enable richer services over cellular connections, and the lack of fixed-line infrastructure in emerging markets will make cellular connections a must-have as tablets are adopted regionally. Report author Daniel Ashdown adds that operator retail strategy also has a part to play: -Multi-device plans (for a smartphone and a tablet) will overcome the problem of consumers not wanting to pay another subscription.-
Microsoft-s official announcement that its Windows 8 OS will be orientated for tablets strongly indicates that mobile — in particular smartphones and tablets — is the fastest growing space in consumer technology. Microsoft-s Office suite will also add to the attraction of tablets within the enterprise space. Juniper-s report forecasts that nearly a fifth of annual tablet shipments will reach the enterprise space by 2016, as business continues to realise the potential of the device for content creation.
The whitepaper -Tablets, Viva La Evolution!- and further details of the study, -Tablet & eReader Evolution: Strategies & Opportunities 2011-2016- are available at .
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