Tablet Computer sales to hit 208 

million in 2014

According to market research firm Gartner, sales of tablet computers like Apple’s IPAD are expected to soar from nearly 20 million units this year to 55 million next year and over 208 million in 2014. Gartner said that north America will account for 61 per cent of tablet computer sales this year but its share will drop to 43 per cent in 2014. Apple began selling its IPAD in April and a number of other companies have announced plans to begin producing similar multimedia devices, which can be used to surf the web, read electronic books, watch video and more.

Gartner said that the explosion in the tablet computers will impact sales of devices in other segments including net-books – the small laptops also known as mini-notebooks. Gartner research vice president Carolina Milanesi said that 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 and especially net-books, as the average selling prices of media tablets drop below 300 dollars over the next years.