iPad Accounted For 58% Worldwide Tablet Shipments In 4Q 2011

Today research firm Strategy Analytics published its estimates of worldwide tablet shipments for the fourth quarter of 2011, showing that Apple continues to dominate the market while Android increases its share on the strength of Kindle Fire.

Director at Strategy Analytics Peter King said:

“Global tablet shipments reached an all-time high of 26.8 million units in Q4 2011, surging 150 percent from 10.7 million in Q4 2010”.

“Apple shipped a robust 15.4 million iPads worldwide and maintained its strong market leadership with 58 percent share during the fourth quarter of 2011. Apple shrugged off the much-hyped threat from entry-level Android models this quarter”.

Throughout 2011 global tablet shipments reached 66.9 million units — a 260% increase from 18.6 million devices in 2010.

Despite considerable growth in Android’s shipment share, Apple lost just nearly four percentage points since the estimates for the second quarter of 2011. Android’s increase appear to have partially come at the expense of Research in Motion and Microsoft, which registered at 3.3% and 4.6% respectively in the second quarter.

The relevance of Strategy Analytics' estimates has been disputed due to the firm’s counting of shipments instead of end sales to customers. Many early Android tablets saw little interest from customers, so the firm’s reports were seen as overestimating Android’s standing by counting Android tablets lying on the shelves while Apple was selling almost every iPad the company could make.