The Mac is unlikely to take Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) to the leader’s board for PC sales. It is still considered too much of a niche product. And, netbooks, which were until recently the hot sellers among personal computers, were not a sector where Apple had an offering.
But, the tablet PC phenomenon has put Apple into position where it may become a leader in overall computer sales. New data from Gartner shows the tablet PC sales will hit almost 20 million this year, worldwide. The number is expected to hit 55 million next year and 214 million in 2014
Windows-based PC companies have been slow into the tablet market which Apple continues to dominate. The one sector where they enjoyed some growth is the sector that tablet PC sales will decimate.
“The all-in-one nature of media tablets will result in the cannibalization of other consumer electronics devices such as e-readers, gaming devices and media players,” said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner. “Mini notebooks will suffer from the strongest cannibalization threat as media tablet average selling prices (ASPs) drop below $300 over the next 2 years.”
If Apple keeps the No.1 spot in the tablet business, it could huge market share away from Dell (NYSE: DELL), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), and Acer.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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