Beijing March 11 news, according to foreign media reports, market research agency IDC released the latest report shows that in 2010 the media Tablet PC shipments nearly 18 million, Apple has occupied 83% of the market share, e-readers in 2010 More than 12 million units shipped, which is a three-fold increase over 2009.

IDC believes that media tablets refer to tablet devices that are equipped with 5-inch to 14-inch color screens, running lightweight operating systems (such as Apple iOS and Google Android), and that can be based on x86 or ARM processors.

Media tablet computers can support multiple connection technologies and support a large number of applications, which makes such products distinguish themselves from devices such as single-function e-readers. The development momentum of the media tablet market not only comes from the launch of new products from PCs, consumer electronics and mobile phone manufacturers, but also from the ever-expanding sales channels and corporate adoption.

IDC data shows that in the fourth quarter of 2010, 10.10 million media tablet PCs were shipped, more than double the 4.5 million in the third quarter. Although Apple’s market share dropped from 93% in the third quarter to 73%, it is still possible to see Apple’s strong lead in this area. Samsung Galaxy Tab Tablet PC is Apple iPad's main rival in the Christmas sales season, its market share exceeds 17%, second only to Apple.

According to IDC's report, the e-reader market also achieved significant growth in the fourth quarter of 2010. Through price cuts and other measures, Amazon's Kindle sales were strong, and its competitors Pandigital, Barnes & Noble, Hanwang and Sony also performed well.

In the fourth quarter of 2010, shipments of e-readers exceeded 6 million units, more than doubled from the previous quarter, and annual shipments reached 12.8 million units, an increase of over 325% from approximately 3 million units in 2009. The strong growth of e-reader shipments indicates that products are more competitive and the market is more interested in such products. This is mainly due to the increase in the content of media tablets and the drop in product prices.

Loren Loverde, IDC’s vice president of consumer device tracking, said: “The strong holiday sales of media tablets are in line with IDC’s expectations, indicating that consumers have a strong interest in such products, and device manufacturers have launched more Competitive products challenge the Apple iPad and iPad 2. Media tablet shipments are expected to reach 50 million units this year."

According to IDC, the United States, Western Europe, and Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) regions accounted for 89% of media tablet shipments in the fourth quarter of 2010. Although the U.S. is still the largest market, Western Europe and Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) regions have grown at a rate equivalent to twice the U.S. market from the third quarter of 2010 to the fourth quarter of 2010, and the Western Europe market is in the fourth quarter of 2010. Media tablet shipments even exceeded the United States.

In the fourth quarter of 2010, retailers were the largest sales channel for media tablet PCs, followed by direct sales and telecom operators. As a new sales channel for media tablets, telecom operators accounted for nearly 14% of shipments in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with only 1% in the third quarter.

Apple recently launched its second-generation iPad, and Apple hopes to continue its strong sales trend in 2010. This product will enter the market this month, even ahead of many competitors' first-generation products. Although more competitive products will appear this year, IDC expects Apple will still be able to maintain a 70% to 80% market share.

The media tablet market Samsung began selling 7-inch Galaxy Tab media tablets in the fourth quarter of 2010. Despite the strong sales channels, Samsung's market demand for this product is not strong due to lack of competitive advantage in terms of price and the great competitive pressures imposed by Apple. Samsung plans to launch the 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab tablet later this year, powered by the Android 3.0 operating system. However, due to the increasing number of competing products entering the market, it is not easy for Samsung to maintain its current market share.

Motorola recently launched the Xoom Tablet PC, which is highly competitive in terms of functionality, but the price is too high will become the main obstacle to its market share expansion. Other vendors will also launch multiple media tablets in the second half of 2011. Many of the products will be competitive in terms of functionality as the Xoom, but IDC expects only large manufacturers' products to capture market share because of their strong marketing capabilities. And sales network, and can be competitive in terms of technology and price.

Some vendors will adopt differentiated competition routes and focus on specific markets, such as the business market. Although they can benefit from unique product positioning, they can only gain a small share of the market, but they must also compete with devices such as Apple.

The e-reader market Amazon is still the leader in the e-reader market, with a market share of more than 48% in the fourth quarter and full year of 2010. In the third quarter of this year, Amazon’s market share had fallen below 40%, but with the new Kindle listed in the fourth quarter, shipments increased, and Amazon once again increased its market share.

Bonno started selling NookColor, a color touch screen e-reader, in the fourth quarter of 2010 to support children's books, periodicals, and other graphic rich content. This product is more expensive than an e-newspaper-based reader, and it can be an ideal replacement for lower-cost, simpler media tablets.

In the fourth quarter of 2010, Pandigital surpassed Bonno in e-reader shipments, ranking second, but Bonnor still leads Pandigital in its annual shipments. China's Hanwang is the fourth-ranked e-reader manufacturer in terms of shipments. Half of Hanwang's products are sold in China and become the leader in the Chinese market. However, Hanwang is facing more fierce competition in the international market, so the overall market share decline.

In the fourth quarter of 2010, Sony’s e-reader shipments increased by 80.7%, with more than 800,000 units shipped in 2010.