About 18 million tablet computers had been shipped in 2010 with market leader Apple capturing a dominant share of 83 percent, research firm International Data Corp. (IDC) said in a report released on Thursday.
The tally was limited to media tablets, which according to IDC' s definition are devices with color displays larger than 5-inch and smaller than 14-inch, running lightweight operating systems such as Apple's iOS and Google's Android, and able to be based on either x86 or ARM processors.
Latest numbers from IDC showed that 10.1 million media tablets were shipped in the fourth quarter of 2010, which included the holiday shopping season, more than double the 4.5 million shipped in the third quarter.
Apple's share came down from 93 percent in the previous quarter to 73 percent in the fourth quarter, but still reflected the iPad- maker's strong leadership position.
Samsung's tablet Galaxy Tab was iPad's primary competitor in the holiday season, capturing a more-than-17-percent share, while a number of smaller regional players also participated, IDC said.
"Strong holiday sales of media tablets were in line with IDC projections and strong consumer interest in the category while device vendors scrambled to offer products competitive with Apple' s iPad and now iPad 2," Loren Loverde, an IDC vice president, said in a statement.
Apple on Thursday announced that iPad 2, the second generation of its tablet, will go on sale in the United States on March 11 through its online and retails stores as well as at AT&T, Best Buy, Target, Verizon Wireless, Walmart and select resellers.
Although more competing devices will be launched in 2011, IDC said it expects Apple to maintain a 70 percent to 80 percent market share this year, noting that the company is launching iPad 2 before most competitors come to market with their first- generation products.
Overall, Apple and other vendors are expected to ship roughly 50 million units of tablets in 2011, Loverde predicted.
