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Apple has the dominat share of the tablet market, but Amazon is the clear leader in the e-reader market, according to a new report by IDC.
Separately, Apple has reported that it sold 7.3 million iPads in the quarter ended 25th December, up from 4.2m in the previous quarter. It has now sold about 14m devices.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Media Tablet and e-reader Tracker, suppliers shipped 4.8m tablets globally in the third-quarter of 2010, compared to 3.3m units in the second quarter of 2010, with Apple's iPad representing nearly 90% of the media tablets shipped worldwide. Meanwhile, the third quarter of 2010 saw global e-reader shipments increase to 2.7m units representing 40% growth over the second quarter, with the US representing nearly three-quarters of the worldwide e-reader market.
According to IDC, while the iPad is dominating the tablet market, Amazon's Kindle was the market leader with a 41.5% market share, ahead of Pandigital (16.1%), and Barnes and Noble (15.4%). Sony was in fourth place with a market share of 8.4%.
IDC anticipates 2010 to close at 10.8m units shipped worldwide, with the US representing 72.4% of global shipments, and forecasts 14.7m units to ship in 2011 and 16.6m in 2012. But these numbers will be dwarfed by tablets, with IDC expecting the media tablet market to finish 2010 at nearly 17m units, and forecasts 44.6m will ship in 2011.