iPad commands lion’s share of tablet market despite Samsung’s gains

The latest Q1 2013 research data from IDC shows that the market for tablets is absolutely booming, growing 142.4 percent year over year. To put that into context, IDC notes that the 49.2 million tablets shipped during the first three months of 2013 is greater than the number of tablets shipped during the first six months of 2012.

As one might expect, Apple’s iPad continues to lead the tablet charge, ranking first in both market share and in overall unit sales. Specifically, Apple’s iPad sales increased 65.3 percent year over year, climbing from 11.8 million units during Q1 2012 to 19.5 million units during Q1 2013.

Apple’s market share, however, went down from 58.1 percent to 39.6 percent on account of impressive sales growth from competing manufacturers.

Samsung, for example, saw its tablet shipments increase by 282.6 percent year over year while Amazon enjoyed an estimated 157.1 percent increase in unit shipments year over year. The big winner this quarter was Asus who saw its year over year tablet growth explode by 350 percent, undoubtedly bolstered by strong sales of the Nexus 7.