Gartner: Tablet shipments to pass 200 million units in 2013

At the expense of the PC market, tablets will continue to see an increase of sales and shipments this year and pass the 200 million mark. At least according to the well-known research firm Gartner. With 2012 being a strong year for the tablet, this year is looking even better with shipments looking to increase 68%. At the same time PC’s are on a decline and are expected to drop 10% or more.

With PC and laptop shipments dropping 10% or more and reaching a number of around 305 million, tablet sales are nipping at their heels and will soon overtake the mainstream PC market. That’s if all these reports are to be believed. IDC recently stated that tablets would outpace the PC by 2014, and Gartner is sharing similar sentiments.

Gartner states 2013 we’ll see 305 million PC, and about 201 million tablet shipments. Then as we head into 2014 the PC market will continue to decline while tablet sales reach an all-time high and surpass 276 million. If the PC continues to dip and tablet growth continues, it’s very likely that mid-way through next year the tablet will officially overtake the PC. Crazy, right?

Consumers want anytime-anywhere computing that allows them to consume and create content with ease, but also share and access that content from a different portfolio of products” — Carolina Milanesi, Research VP at Gartner

Oh, and while we’re talking about it, take a peek at the screenshot above. Gartner shows the Android OS at the top with a strong lead, and their numbers only getting bigger into 2014. Looking good Google, looking good.

Gartner mentions that this isn’t all good news for tablets. And that as more and more budget devices arrive and more people buy them this year, 2014 might not experience as large of a growth margin. Either way tablets are here to stay, and we welcome the slew of budget-friendly Android slates with arms wide open. Bring on that second-gen Nexus 7 Google. We want it!

VIA: CNET SOURCE: Gartner