ABI Research has analysed tablet sales for the first quarter of 2012, calculating that 18.2 million devices were shipped worldwide. That’s an 185% gain year-on-year, although the total figure was down 33% on the previous quarter.
According to the Q1 2012 calculations, Apple saw 11.8 million iPad shipments - keeping it well ahead of the competition - while Samsung’s 1.1 million shipments returned it to second place, replacing the Amazon Kindle Fire. Amazon’s Kindle Fire had its US launch in November 2011.
Jeff Orr, group director for consumer research at ABI Research, said “A pattern similar to smartphones is also occurring in tablets. Apple and Samsung have demonstrated staying power while other tablet vendors ebb and flow like the tide.”
RIM (with BlackBerry shipments up 233% from the previous quarter) and Lenovo (up 107% quarter-on-quarter) were the only two manufacturers that saw shipments increase from Q4 2011 to Q1 2012.
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