The Tablets March On: Increase in Demand Expected to Swell Throughout Year

So it seems the results are in (at least the ones from International Data Corporation [IDC]). The tablet market is still a’surging, and it won’t be letting up anytime soon. IDC is known in various sectors as a premier provider of market intelligence, advisory service alerts and eventful information – a true boon in the IT community.

So when its analysts report on something, the media – and the consumer base – tend to listen.

While the tablet industry on a whole experienced some weak shipments early in 2011, that lull won’t remain in place for long, according to IDC. It increased its shipping expectation numbers up to 53.5 million, which is a little over three million more than it had originally forecasted.

The champions responsible for this rally include the HP TouchPad as well as the perennial favourite, the Apple iPad. In fact, the "iPad 2 Plus" is rumoured for release around the holidays, and will feature improved pixilation (among other features).

But one other factor that IDC is plugging into the mix is a new release expected from Amazon. That’s right – Amazon is rumored to begin manufacturing a tablet PC. It’s not really that far-fetched, given the success of the Kindle, but only time will tell.

Consumer demand has been somewhat shaky due to a poor economy, but the holidays, as well as a greater variety in purchase options, should improve matters.

According to IDC’s vice president, Bob O’Donnell, "Like the PC market, Media Tablets have had a bit of a challenging quarter in Q1, as concerns about general macroeconomic issues and the post-holiday letdown took a toll on demand." He added, "We expect the rest of the year to be much stronger, but we believe vendors who continue to focus on the telco channel for distribution will face serious challenges."

And by that last statement, O’Donnell is referring to certain Android-based manufacturers that joined hands with mobile service providers for distribution purposes.

As market research would have shown the manufacturers (LG, Motorola, etc), the average user doesn’t necessarily care about 3G/4G access on a tablet – as long as they have WiFi.

But we don’t discriminate. Whether you need WiFi, 3G, 4G, Amazon, Apple or HP – we’ve got the tablet rental options you need for business usage. Just come visit our website.