iPad most popular, says global tablet shipment report

Apple remains the leader of the tablet market with its popular iPad. In the Q4 report of 2011, the iPad held its ground in the face of competition from Amazon’s Kindle Fire with a 58% share of total global tablet shipments.

Out of the 26.8 million tablets shipped globally in the fourth quarter of 2011, 15.4 million were iPads. Despite the threat from cheaper Android devices, the iPad not only maintained, but also gained in popularity this quarter. In fact, the iDevice led the growth of the tablet market itself, which saw a 150% growth from Q4 2010, when 10.7 million tablets shipped worldwide.

Android, on its part, also grew in market share, though not enough to topple Apple from its top slot. Rather, its growth come from overtaking Microsoft and RIM; according to the report that Mac Rumours got its hands on, it shipped 10.5 million tablets in the quarter studied. 

In terms of market share, Apple is still the leader with its popular iOS taking up a 57.6% share but Android is slowly closing with some tough competition. Android’s OS market share increased by more than 10% to settle at 39.1% in Q4 2011, up from 29% for the same quarter in 2010.

It will be interesting to see how Apple fares in this quarter, especially with the release of the highly anticipated iPad 3 just around the corner. Will the tablet take it to new heights of popularity or will Android finally be able to play catch-up?